Of unkept promises, turbulent times and bubble tea

It is July, and I have things that still have to tell themselves, pending since May 13th.

It is July, and already the Egyptian ambassador has been supposedly killed, Al-Qaeda is supposedly responsible for the london blasts... at least they didn't blame Greenpeace this time.

It is July, and Iran and Iraq have signed a military agreement... China is going to buy Unacol... Japan may consider rearmament... The E.U will now scramble towards their constitution and include a military clause in it, since Italy and Germany now are shaking ever since pop went the weasel in the tube and on a big old jolly bus yesterday.

Yesterday... a thing of note, ladies and gentlemen. It has been said in U.S foreign policy class that U.S policy for a long time centred around a theory of isolation, of staying away from world issues. Till World War II anyway. At first I snorted and sniffed over this. But look at this: today's NY times carries the stories of yesterday's in London. News a day later. News which, at least here in Portland, is pushed behind news of a hustle for a new supreme court judge, a little boy's murder, and the Hilton family's new reality t.v show.

Jesus. I suppose such only makes me more grateful for Mr. Cyrus Partovi's foreign policy class. Fingers prodding into the world outside this starred and stripey continent... fingers which learn to feel the tension in central asia, the sprained tendon in sino-japanese relations.

I want to ask you so many things. About what Barkha Dutt and we the people are saying about the recent skirmish at Ayodhya. Whether the water crisis has gotten worse. Whether people fawned over good ol' Bill when he visited the coastline... whether someone took him to mahablipuram or pondi.

I want to know whether they will ever show the old man beheaded. I want to know if it was really Al Qaeda, the blasts I mean. I want to know what Zarqawi thinks he'll gain. I want to know why that lawyer quit from the defense team who are handling mr. Saddam Hussein's case. I want to know if everyone knows that pot is legal here in Oregon, though still a debatable issue.

Unkept promises. Unanswered questions. Ok, alright, the break has been long enough. Regular posting WILL resume immediately. The silence is beginning to ache. Before which- Bubble tea is a drink that is all the rage here in Portland, and consists of iced tea and tapioca bubbles that you suck up and gleefully chew through a large, large straw. To drink it, mouth full, tongue cool and chewing silently, is to be happy.

My favourite flavours are coconut and almond chocolate. The drink originated in Taiwan.

Blair looked like a hurt little boy standing outside the summit waiting to inform the delegates of the news. America has stepped up its security, especially on trains. The markets have bounced back, and the Times described the Brits as being "oddly stoic".


Up yours, mate.

And hand me my bubble tea.