The Foreign Service Journal, May 2010

M A Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 13 cholera epidemic in 15 years and ram- pant poverty. As many as three million citizens have fled across the border into South Africa to find work and refuge from the political instability. In 2009, the Southern African De- velopment Council, a 15-member re- gional grouping, appointed Pres. Zuma as its chief mediator in Harare. A wave of optimism had developed when, fol- lowing his mid-March visit to Zim- babwe, Zuma announced that the parties had agreed to a package of measures to be implemented “concur- rently.” It was also agreed the negoti- ating teams would attend to all out- standing matters during their delibera- tions before reporting back to Zuma by March 31. But, on March 24, ZANU-PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo indicated that there would be no movement on outstanding issues until international sanctions on the country are lifted. Whether this is party policy or reflects a faction fight within the party remains to be seen. Pres. Mugabe has accused Prime Minister Tsvangirai of not doing enough on the sanctions problem. But according to the BBC, even Pres. Zuma, who has stated his disagree- ment with the view that more pressure was required, was unsuccessful in hav- ing the Western sanctions relaxed dur- ing his recent visit to London. Many believe that a new election, providing it is free and fair, is the only way to enable the country to move for- ward. And Pres. Mugabe himself has suggested that a fresh poll could be held early next year. But the Zim- babwe Election Support Network has warned that calls for fresh elections in the country are premature in the ab- sence of an overhaul of the discredited voters’ roll and a review of electoral, se- curity and media laws. In a detailed analysis of the power- sharing agreement, the International Crisis Group ( www.crisisgroup.org ) argues that the country’s democratic transition is still at risk, “especially from hardline security officials.” For background and to follow de- velopments in Zimbabwe, see http:// allafrica.com/zimbabwe/ and http:// news.bbc.co.uk . ■ This edition of Cybernotes was com- piled by Senior Editor Susan Brady Maitra and Editorial Intern Jennifer Thompson. C Y B E R N O T E S Site of the Month: shelfari.com A social networking site for bibliophiles, Shelfari’ s mission is to enhance the ex- perience of reading by connecting readers in meaningful conversations about the published word. The site is a gathering place for authors, aspiring authors, publishers and read- ers. Members can build virtual bookshelves of books they own, as well as books they want, to share with friends. They can rate and discuss books online, write re- views, participate in groups of readers with the same interests and interact with and learn from authors. Users of the site can categorize their books by various topics — say, economics, baseball or thrillers. They can also view titles that reside on the bookshelves of their friends and locate those people who have similar books in their collections. Based in Seattle, the site was launched in 2006 by former RealNetworks employ- ees Josh Hug and Kevin Beukelman, and acquired by Amazon.com in 2008.