A look back

So the 50th post came and went like the proverbial ‘thief in the night’ I was planning to do a look back on the biggest issues that we have covered and provide additional commentary on them. Well its better late then never I suppose.

The Scarlet Pimpernel
Its seems like I have been writing and not providing a sufficient background of myself. Many of you will ask the key question: ‘ is he qualified to make the statements that he does on his site’

Well a bit more of a background. I am a journalist by trade and pride myself on my keen eye for detail and somewhat critical view on society. Granted I do write for the Mining Weekly magazine, but that just means I’m taught to take politicians less seriously and look beyond the bullshit that they are at times masters of providing.

Now that the ‘Scarlet Pimpernel’ has been unmasked as it where, we can go into the issues with renewed verve.

The Wild West
I wrote a post in early April that likened South Africa to the Wild West. I got a lot of feedback on this article praising it for its accurate comparisons of South Africa’s current social society and that of the tumultuous time in America’s history where the west was being won.

A key aspect of society in the Wild West was that many of the towns were overrun by everyone else except for those in public office. Towns like tombstone Arizona, which were overrun by desperado’s hell bent on general skulduggery, was commonplace.

Although Tombstone had one of the best law enforcers in the country patrolling the streets, the Clanton gang still ran amok ‘rootin, tootin, and shootin’

South Africa is the same. Everyone else, except for those in Government run the country. Hell, JZ should just step down and make Zwelinzima Vavi the president. South Africa has seen no less then 22 strikes since October last year. 90% of which were organised by Cosatu.

In fact it is considered un-South African to not participate in some form of strike action. And the frequencies of the strikes are increasing. 2 weeks ago the doctors were on strike because of their wages, as soon as that ended the SABC went on strike, last week the construction industry went on strike, and this week the petrochemical industry might go on strike.

But as stated before, the crowd in South Africa is fickle and will strike at the drop of a hat and for any old thing.

Africa’s Showpiece
2010 is a big year for South Africa. It is the year that we host the second biggest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup.

This has been a hotly discussed topic because of concerns of South Africa’s readiness for the event.

The FIFA Confederations Cup was used as a dry run for the World Cup and by all accounts the event was a success, but there were problems.

One of the challenges was the public transport system to the stadium. Owing to FIFA being a bunch of anal bastards, all access roads with 2 km of the stadiums were blocked off. The public were to use a park and ride system to get to the stadiums. There were major problems here as people were arriving late to the stadiums and took two hours to get back from the stadiums to their cars.

2 major incidents stick out here. During the match between Brazil and Egypt, played at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, the majority of the fans only got to their seats after halftime. In the other incident, when Italy played Egypt at Ellis Park, people were left stranded at 11 pm at night two blocks away from Hillbrow.

There was also a major culture shock for a number of people coming to SA for the first time. Watching soccer in a civilised country such as Italy or Spain you are subjected to fans who drink a bit, take their shirts off and chant a bit. If you are in Italy you might get a Vespa thrown at you from the top tier of the San Siero. In South Africa, you have to watch soccer surrounded by fans with balaclavas over their faces, vuvuzela’s in their one hand, a dictionary in their other hand, and a cut up hardhat on their heads.

All’s Well that Ends Well
I suppose that South Africa is still the best place on earth, you get a real appreciation for that when you live away from the country like I did when I lived in Dubai for 2 years. Granted there are a lot of things about Dubai that I miss, but the whole time when I was there I missed South Africa terribly.

On a personal note I fell in love with the most beautiful girl in the world. Its funny how finding love can change your life. Much of the credit for many pieces on this blog can be given to Jessica who has given me the inspiration to enhance my skills as a writer, and my life in general.