To be or not to be… a dictator

While our cricketers were being humbled in the World Cup down under by New Zealand, our President was toying with the idea of becoming a dictator.

If you’re wondering how these two events are connected – they’re not. It’s just that both our President and our cricketers were a major disappointment yesterday, with the former being a permanent one.

While most will have people laughed off Jacob Zuma’s idiotic contemplation, some of us were a tad bit jittery, this being Africa, a continental clusterfuck of downright autocratic and pseudo-democratic governments. Talk here in South Africa of dictatorship by the ruling circus clown should never be taken too lightly.

Zuma may be a giggling, incompetent, lying, corrupt leader who somehow always comes off as likeable to the voting fodder, he harbours a dark side that very few people get to see. I caught a glimpse of it once on television when he was engulfed by a horde of reporters and cameramen, and I recognized it instantly. He is most certainly capable of transforming into a full-blown dictator.

But why would Zuma want to become a dictator, even if for one year as he facetiously “requested” in the South African Local Government Association summit in Midrand? He has everything going for him.

(a) He has this uncanny knack of fooling everyone into thinking they have a fully functioning democracy.

(b) The majority of the voting public being somewhat credulous, are tripping over each other to vote for him.

(c) He has twisted practically every arm of the law and judiciary to serve his every whim and folly.

(d) He can spout utter rubbish and the majority of the people lap it up unquestioningly.

So why? Is it possible that he senses that the tide is turning and that things will no longer be going his way. Are more and more of his former supporters and lap-dogs slowly but surely recognizing what a huge liability he is?

I think so…

Freshly Played #22: Hayley Westenra

Around the world it’s mostly doom and gloom and just about every country in going through some form of distress or other. But for six and half minutes Hayley Westenra can and will make you forget all that.

World in Union

The song with lyrics by Charlie Skarbek was commissioned by the International Rugby Board (IRB) for the Rugby World Cup held every four years. While it has been performed by a number of artists over the years, Hayley’s version sung during the 2011 tournament in New Zealand is the most striking for me personally.

The second half is sung in Maori, but she has also performed the song in Italian, French and Japanese. But Westenra who is a member of the Irish group Celtic Women, is quite an accomplished artist who has also sung in Irish, Welsh, German, Portuguese, Latin and Mandarin Chinese.

Take the time out…

Horror from Japan excites horrid little minds

As the true extent of the damage from the massive earthquake that struck Japan begins to be realized, the crazy warped minds of the world’s religious lunatics are working overtime churning out ignorant theories about the wrath of the gods, the end times, the return of Jesus, and the power of the Supermoon.

Every time there is a natural disaster somewhere around the world, you can bet your bottom dollar that some religious looney-tune is going to mouth off about god’s wrath against gays, lesbians, heathens, Atheists or whatever conflicts with their warped sense of morality.

String together a series of natural disasters, political revolts and other forms of turmoil such as economic downturns, and the horrid little minds of these god-botherers goes into myopic overdrive.

The earthquake in Japan follows the recent heavy flooding in Australia, and earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand and citizen revolts in North Africa. The aftermath of the earthquake resulted in tsunami’s causing destruction elsewhere, a nuclear power plant about to go into meltdown, and a volcano eruption. This much chaos seems to have gotten the religious doomsayers into a monumental frenzy.

Just this weekend I’ve read that god is punishing the Japanese for killing and eating whales, the end-times is very close, Jesus is about to make another appearance, the bible predicted everything, and that the poor old moon is responsible for setting off the whole catastrophe.

But somehow, while god is supposedly laying on the death and destruction everywhere, he’s positively smiling down on South Africa’s favorite convicted fraudster. Schabir Shaik who was released from prison apparently because he was terminally ill, seems to become livelier by the day, as he goes about his way assaulting and intimidating reporters and even worshippers.

Go figure!

Big fuss over sounds of joy

I really don’t understand the big hoo-hah over the blowing of trumpets (known locally as vuvuzela’s) at the FIFA Confederations Cup matches currently on the go, at various stadiums around the northern half of South Africa.

I was at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg last night, where I’m working 🙂 as a Venue Manager providing support for the Media-IT and Broadcast network, and had the privilege of witnessing the sheer ecstasy and unbridled admiration of the South Africans supporting their team affectionately known as Bafana Bafana. Accompanying the wild gyrations and joyous singing of the fans, was the unmistakable sounds of the vuvuzela, in varying degrees of loudness. There is no doubt that the sound it emits is loud, shrill even, but when blown by elated fans in unison, it has a hypnotic tone that screams “come join the party.”

However, there have been complaints by some grumpy members of the public about the noise it makes. These complaints seem to emanate from those people who have just heard the sounds over the television or radio; they have not actually been in a stadium surrounded by hundreds of singing, vuvuzela-blowing fans to experience its magical effect and the euphoric atmosphere it helps create. Thus far, I have heard of just one complaint from a soccer player; Xabi Alonso, playing for Spain. He says that FIFA should ban it (the vuvuzela) because it is not a nice sound to hear. Apparently that didn’t affect his team from thumping New Zealand, five goals to nil on the opening night of the Confederations Cup tournament. Now imagine if I could get every sound I didn’t like banned; Beyonce, Backstreet Boys, The Pussycat Dolls and a host of other pop stars, would become just bad memories.

There have been absurd claims by some that the vuvuzela is a South African, cultural phenomenon, but this is so far from the truth that it needs to be dismissed with utter contempt. The vuvuzelais not an artifact of African culture; it is just an instrument that helps express the pure joy being felt by a soccer fan, most of whom happen to be Black. If you were at the game last night between South Africa and the hapless New Zealanders, then you would have witnessed scores of White South African fans happily blowing the vuvuzela, albeit with some difficulty. At the after-match press conference last night FIFA President, Sepp Blatter summed it up quite nicely when he said:

“It’s a local sound and I don’t know how it is possible to stop it. I always said that when we go to South Africa, it is Africa. It’s not western Europe.” and “It’s noisy, it’s energy, rhythm, music, dance, drums. This is Africa. We have to adapt a little”

The vuvuzela is here to stay. Visitors to the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup next year, are in for a treat; a most amazing assault on the senses and an experience in pure joy. But the vuvuzela will require some stamina, an open mind and a willingness to have fun. I recommend that you pick up one at your nearest sports outlet and start practicing.