Very sad news from Zimbabwe

The opposition candidate has pulled out of Zimbabwe's presidential election, leaving the field to the senile thug Robert Mugabe.

Shame on the UN and shame on the government of South Africa for letting Mugabe persist in office.

I am again mystified, as I always am in these situations, at the international norm that protects dictators from the benign influence of the well timed cruise missle but fails to protect their subjects from their violence and incompetence.