During the first half of this month, I attended a conference and also had a week off (for good behaviour) in Shaytân-e Bozorg, which is Persian for "the Great Satan", aka the United States.
I did not meet anybody with little horns or cloven hooves. But I did sink even deeper into debt by spending a great deal of money, belonging to the bank, in the Apple shop. This is perhaps merely another way of falling into the hands of Lucifer.
Wanting to hear and see some news about South Africa and President Jacob G Zuma, I also watched television on various occasions. I thus suffered manfully through countless debates between the Republicans, represented by a youngster who looks like rugby player Joost van der Westhuizen (I think his name is Paul Ryan), and the Democrats, represented by President Barack Obama or various handlangers, on the US debt crisis.
I also had to listen to and see that fellow with the bizarre hair-style, Donald Trump, who believes that it is of national importance that Obama was not born in the US but in Brakpan or Timbuktu.
In short, the US, if one can judge by its media, is not much interested in us or Zuma. Perhaps this is just as well. The debt crisis and Trump are so bone-numbingly tedious that, given half a chance, many Americans could become disciples of Julius Malema and that remarkable trial about dubul' ibhunu that, as far as I could tell, put a notable number of big-bellied half-wits on parade.
Probably also just as well that Zuma's not getting any media coverage in the US. According to the local media - which my gorgeous wife kindly left piled up on the kitchen table for me - Zuma is facing a new slew of troubles.