My First Anniversary

Yes ladies and gentleman, it was one year ago today that Bitter Lemon began. As I recall my motivation, I was working on an assignment and needed a way to procrastinate. Now, one year later, I have just finished working on an assignment and thought I'd take the opportunity to comment on the occasion. See, that's progress!

One year ago, I was criticizing the U.N. and the world's failure to act in Sudan. Clearly no progress there. I also commented upon Canada's failure to live up to its reputation as a peacekeeping nation. Check!

I criticized the Globe and Mail and the National Post for their on-line paid subscription models. I suggested that if the New York Times could offer all of its content for free, so could they. Well, it seems we've regressed there, as anyone whose life has been made as meaningless as mine by the absence of regular doses of Thomas Friedman can attest (I know he's hokey, but I love him!).

On the bright side, despite how it was looking a year ago, they managed to have relatively free and fair elections in the Ukraine. Things are still by no means perfect in the young democracy, but progress is progress.

Since then (in no particular order): the fighting in Iraq continued, but elections were held; the fighting continued in Afghanistan, but elections were held; nobody cared about Darfur; there were modest stirrings of democracy across the Middle East; Hariri was killed; London was bombed; Live 8 failed to change the world; Google just kept getting better; Zimbabwe descended further into chaos; nobody cared about Darfur; King Paul and his courtiers proved unfit to govern time and time again; the Pope died; Africa got its first female elected head of state; the government fell; Michael Ignatieff lost his mind; nobody cared about Darfur. Oh, and there was some weather.