June 27, 2008

Today's guest host was Margaret Evans.


Satire

It's Friday, June 27th.

Zimbabwe is pressing ahead with a Presidential run-off election today, despite the fact that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has pulled out of the vote, citing brutal violence and fears for his safety.

Currently, President Robert Mugabe says THAT makes it the perfect time for a run-off vote ... you know ... right after the opposition has run off.

This is the Current.

Election Day in Zimbabwe

Election Observer

On Friday, June 27 there was no need to line up to vote, but the lineups for food were as long as ever.

President Robert Mugabe forged ahead with the internationally condemned run-off vote for the presidency despite the fact that his only opponent, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, pulled out of the contest five days before the electin. Tsvangirai said state-sponsored violence against his candidates and supporters made campaigning too dangerous, and virtually impossible anyway.

With his only opponent out of the running, President Mugabe said on June 27, 2008 that he would be open to negotiations with the opposition. And Tsvangirai called on the government to work with him to form a transitional authority.

But in the meantime, there was still an election to run, even if there was only one candidate. Members of the military and the police led people to the polls, a far cry from the widespread excitement and anticipation of the election in March.

Western election monitors were not allowed into the country, but the Southern African Development Community (SADC) did place observers in Zimbabwe. Tanki Mathae, SADC's Director of Politics, Defence and Security Affairs, joined us from Harare.

Zimbabweans

The results of the presidential run-off vote were a foregone conclusion in Zimbabwe, but almost everything else about the country's future was in flux. For their thoughts on what might be next for the country, we were joined by two Zimbabweans: from Harare by Davison Maruziza, Deputy Editor of The Standard, an independent newspaper in Zimbabwe; and from a Harare suburb by Farai, who asked that we not use his last name because he fears for his safety.



Listen to Part One:

Laser Racer Swimsuit

With the approach of the 2008 Olympics, The Laser (or LZR) Racer was the hottest swimsuit in the world -- but it's sure not for everyone.

It costs $550; it's only good for about five swims; and it's made of water-repellent polyurethane so form-fitting that it can take more than 15 minutes to squeeze yourself into.

On the upside, it makes you look like a kick-ass futuristic superhero, and it probably represents your best chance at an Olympic medal. Thirty-eight world records were broken in the four months or so after Speedo introduced the suit in February 2008. Australian swimming star Libby Trickett sayid wearing the suit makes her feel like she's "swimming downhill." And it was considered an essential piece of equipment for the Beijing Summer Olympics. The world's greatest swimmer, American Michael Phelps, describes wearing the suit.

The Laser Racer, however, was not without controversy. Some critics suggested its hi-tech design went too far; one Italian coach called it a kind of "technological doping." Others took a different tack, arguing the benefits of the suit were mostly psychological. And apart from all of that, the Laser Racer sparked legal fights amongst swim teams that wanted to dump their current sponsors and switch to Speedo.

So for a more thorough analysis, we sent The Current's Kathleen Goldhar and Kristin Nelson out to take the Laser Racer for a test drive. But first Kathleen had to get into the suit. We also heard there from Byron MacDonald, a former Olympian and the head swimming coach at the University of Toronto.


Ethics

The Laser Racer created a technological divide in competitive swimming.

Swimmers sponsored by companies other than Speedo tried to get out of their contracts and into Laser Racers, lest they be left treading water in Beijing. That's not an issue for the Canadian swim team, which was sponsored by Speedo. The team members already had their suits.

But according to Dave Paskevich, the real competitive edge might not be in the suit at all. He's a sports psychologist at the University of Calgary and he works with Canada's Olympic athletes.

One way or another, the Laser Racer introduced a new level of gamesmanship to the Olympic pool, as well as some thorny ethical questions. For his thoughts on some of those questions, we were joined from Ottawa by Paul Melia, CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

Listen to Part Two: