Governor Says He Will Now Focus on His Family

Actually, I think this is a shame. Spitzer may have been unwise fooling around with high-class hookers (that is, because he's a public figure, not because it's wrong), but I kind of liked the guy and his crusading spirit--a bright light in the dismal wastes of American democracy. It's unfortunate that, in America, this sort of behavior will not be condoned, as though private morality has some bearing on a public office, whether for a governor (of New Jersey or New York) or the President. Didn't Mandeville say that private vice is actually *good* for public virtue? I guess he didn't mean it in quite this way; then again, he *was* French.

What else in the news? In addition to Spitzer walking off the job, there is more news of walks. A group of Tibetans have recently set out from Dharamsala, India on a six month protest walk to Tibet, their arrival timed to the start of the Beijing Olympics. I am almost tempted to join them--not because I am such a Free Tibet supporter (I think it's a complicated issue), but because it's such a brilliant move. All those who were against the awarding of the games to China should be glad it's given the world, and Steven Spielberg, a chance to embarrass the hell out of the wretched Chinese government.

I read in Time magazine about a British guy who attempted to walk from Britain to India without any money, relying entirely on the kindness of strangers. He made it as far as Calais.

This brings to mind The Goliath Expedition, which I may have mentioned already: one man's attempt to walk from Patagonia to John O'Groats. I gather he's been stuck in Alaska for awhile, because the Russians won't grant him a visa (and because he can't figure out--I'm not joking--how to cross the Bering Strait on foot?). See http://goliath.mail2web.com/ for details.

Hey, wait a minute, this is a travel blog, not a news blog. Let me try again to post something travel-related...