Zimbabweans get to tell their story

The BBC are being allowed back into Zimbabwe eight years after they were thrown out by the brutal Mugabe regime. CNN is also close to an agreement with the new government.

The awkward arrangement under which Morgan Tsvangirai became Prime Minister, albeit with Mugabe lurking behind his shoulder as "President", seems to be a sign that the country is turning its wounded face to the light.

For years, the BBC tried to film the rape of farms and property surreptitiously, smuggling in reporters on tourist visas
using covert cameras and microphones. Inevitably, especially in television, the story suffers when the reporter lacks the freedom to question everyone involved and be transparent about the work.

The ruination of Zimbabwe will now be documented more fully and hopefully, with the world watching, the resulting coverage will lead to more help, and swifter reform and recovery. I visited Zimbabwe in better times, when tourism was booming and the economy was healthy in the early nineties before Mugabe's mood swung against his citizens.

Its a country of stupefying beauty and delightful, softly spoken and gentle people. They deserve to tell their story.

Operator snoozes while train speeds along

Here's Citizen Journalism at its finest. A teenager catches a Washington Metro Operator sleeping on the job. It comes to light days after a crash on the system, and an incident where another operator was videod texting while driving. Thanks to YouTube, and easy-to-use cameras, the age of the citizen reporter has truly arrived. And its distribution on YouTube circumvents the usual unseemly scramble of TV networks to secure exclusive rights.

Mugging on Hudson

I was mugged tonight along with my wife and two young children outside a restaurant in an allegedly upscale Westchester community, and with the encouragement of the local police.

Its a story about kids and where they are, and are not, welcome.

I booked a table at a recommended local restaurant, the Caravela in Tarrytown. A Portuguese survivor, known for its fish and its welcome.

They turned out to be arrogant child-haters. My 6-year-old daughter and (almost) 3-year-old son are no angels, but they're not juvenile delinquents either. I made sure when booking to tell the guy we had two young kids, and they did run around a bit.

The trouble began when we refused to sit next to the kitchen, five miles from the nearest fellow-diners. We asked for a table closer to the middle of the restaurant where the other eight or so customers were eating, From then on, the staff were slow, dismissive, and passive aggressive. I eventually snapped when the manager chastised me for asking to move tables. I asked for the bill and refused to pay for the main course which had not yet arrived. The helpful Tarrytown Constabulary (three of them) arrived with great fanfare (blocking the entrance) and informing me (with all the confidence of the Law and Order Federal Prosecutor) that to refuse to pay the bill would infringe New York State Law (after all, we were from DC).

The mostly elderly people in the restaurant ignored our plight. They are clearly its future.

With my children crying on the sidewalk, I forked out and left after they threatened to arrest me.

We'll pursue this with vigor but no great confidence in justice. The restaurant, and the cops, should be ashamed of themselves.