For whom the tolls swindles

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main...
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee
- John Donne

We were at peace for a while. The furore surrounding the intention by government to enforce e-tollling had died down when the courts slapped an interdict on the contemptible scheme. A divided nation had been united on a common issue for a precious period of time.

A population already buckling under the cost of living were contemplating how to use the money they had been forced to budget for, in other more useful ways. And then it came…

The crooks in government woke up to the reality of losing a very lucrative source of funding to sustain their corrupt and ostentatious lifestyles. They decided to fight the interdict; they decided to push ahead with their vile plot to make the taxpayer their bitches.They had only dallied long enough to fire the pathetic stooge who headed the organization tasked to implement this massive swindle, for failing to threaten the population into submission.

They have chosen a path of confrontation which they will regret. Fascism will not be tolerated. They will learn for whom the bells toll…

The New Age of news reporting: news as the government says it should be

Yesterday a special first-edition copy of the soon to be published, new South African national newspaper, The New Age (TNA), was pressed into my hands by a colleague at work. I accepted it reluctantly and put it away with the intention of  perusing it later.

Off course, the reason I accepted the copy reluctantly, was because of the early impressions formed about the newspaper after learning that it was going to be printed with a sympathetic leaning towards the government, by the Gupta family (contributors to the 500K Klan, also known as the ANC). However, after reading about the TNA in Chris Roper’s column in the M&G last night, I decided to actually read the newspaper this morning. Even the advertisements; and boy are there a large number of them, mostly about government departments and initiatives. There is even a full-colour double page spread advertising the Champions League finals for that ghastly 20-20 form of the good game.

Chris Roper was right; there’s nothing new here. The biased slant towards the government (and ANC) is quite obvious. The only new thing about the TNA is that you, the taxpayer will mostly be paying for it, through government advertising. It’s obviously not targeted at the intellectually competent; the simple easy to read style and pro-government angle is aimed at a demographic that keeps the ANC in power. Chris’s assessment and conclusion just about sums up this waste of precious paper:

It’s no accident that the New Age‘s acronym is TNA — if the ads are anything to go by, this is going to be the Tits ‘n Ass of political journalism, a landscape where we’re invited to ogle two component parts that, together, don’t make up anything like the full body.

And one is left in no doubt, that should the dastardly Media Appeals Tribunal ever see the light of day, The New Age will be safe from any persecution, simply by design, or even political intervention if necessary.

The New Age of rose-coloured reporting. Feel it, it is here!!!

The New Democracy

Only in South Africa, and a few other places which I wont mention right now, because I don’t live there, there exists a new democracy.

It is known as government of the unwashed masses, (paid for) by the sodding taxpayer, for the self-enrichment of the government. Most South Africans will recognise this form of government all too well. Its menacing stranglehold on the South African citizenry is now well established. Were he alive today, Abraham Lincoln would have been aghast at how wrong it can all become.

The new democracy was born out of noble intentions by the post-apartheid ANC-led government to create parity among all South Africans. It was hoped that at least some of the inequalities created by the previous regime would be addressed, if not eliminated entirely. It started well, but only a select few really benefitted from the parity-creation endeavours. Actually, a select few became super-rich, almost overnight.

Most people don’t know how or why it happened, but at about this time the government persuaded itself to join the super-rich clan. The mantra “what behoove a person who joined the liberation struggle, to remain poor,” came into eye-opening effect. And to this end, they have slowly worked themselves over the years into positions that would ensure that they would become part of the elite.

South Africans know this all too well. Not a week passes without a new scandal involving government impropriety with public funds becoming revealed. If it’s not extravagant spending on luxury vehicles, it’s purchase of expensive property and renovations,  overseas junkets, lavish parties, designer clothes, consultancy fees for stupid consultants who make stupid recommendations, and the latest fad; staying at super-luxury hotels, running up huge bills.

The latest addition to the treasury-looting hall of fame is none other than our Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa whose profligacy concerning hotel accommodation must be the envy of his government colleagues. It’s been reported that he racked up bills of  R235 000 at a hotel in Cape Town and a further R570 000 at a Durban hotel. And considering the two BMW X5’s he purchased at our expense (why two?) at a cost of around R1.3-million, lets hope he hasn’t got an eye on any triple-story mansions in Cape Town. Ostensibly, good taste is obligatory, if you’re splurging someone else’s money.

This spend-thrift is the same Minister who wants the law changed so that his under-paid, demoralised police officers can invade your home at their under-informed discretion, while he sips Martini’s at the Hilton Hotel. Let’s say he manages by some miracle to actually halve the crime rate in South Africa, I would be quite happy to let him continue to raid the treasury.

But, are you up to it, Minister?