michael lambe's scrapbook

Here’s this month’s message from Hozouji. I’m sorry it’s a little tardy. I’ve been a tad busy with marking.

And here it is in romaji and then my translation:

subete ga
warikerenu
tokoro ni
jinsei no
myoumi ga aru

Not everything
can be broken down
into simple solutions,
and therein lies
life’s beauty.

Hmm… Seems a bit top-heavy. Oh, well…

Update: There’s a slightly revised version plus Masaya Kanzaki’s commentary up here: LINK

Zimbabwe

Here’s the latest campaign from avaaz.org for Zimbabwe:

…against the odds, hope survives. Amidst growing international pressure, Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party and the opposition have entered private talks. A unity government may be possible yet.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously held on Monday that free and fair elections are now impossible in Zimbabwe. The UN Secretary-General spoke out. But it is African leaders, most of all Thabo Mbeki, who hold the key. Even Mugabe cannot cling to power without their cooperation. Today, we’re launching an emergency campaign, petitioning these leaders to call an immediate summit, isolate Mugabe, and broker a legitimate government for Zimbabwe. Our call will be published in big newspaper advertisements in South Africa, Tanzania, Angola, and Mozambique this week — click here to see the ads and endorse their message:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_zimbabwe/5.php?cl=100616919

Zimbabwe’s neighbours supply its electricity and goods, and control the borders. Many Southern African leaders are already calling for the postponement of the election — but there’s a real danger that they will end up accepting this charade. This would be a grave miscalculation: if Mugabe succeeds in his de facto coup, Zimbabwe’s implosion will accelerate, and chaos could spread throughout the region.

So our campaign will publicly name those African leaders who hold Mugabe’s last remaining lifeline. If these leaders step up strongly now, they can convince enough of Mugabe’s officials that change is coming one way or another — and set the stage for Morgan Tsvangirai to lead a unity government to Zimbabwe back together…

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_zimbabwe/5.php?cl=100616919