Riots are the
weapon of angry, frustrated and ignored young men and women. Here in South
Africa their puzzling and illogical targets for wanton destruction are schools
and other places of learning. The obvious
sufferers are usually the younger men and women of the rioter’s district. Authorities
are now hoping that the parents and elders of these pupils will volunteer to
protect these establishments but with a twist. The volunteers will be paid. But
not as much as proper guards would be. This plan may not work out. Sjamboks
might.
Whatever your
view of the present USA leadership, the just passed 50th anniversary
of the moon landing is a reminder of the undeniable fact that America was
indeed Great. Today? Well maybe not as much. Amongst the celebrations to mark
the event was a life-sized sculpture of the three astronauts set in a diorama of
a lunar landscape complete with a replica of the first moon footprint. The
whole is constructed out of a ton of butter which the organisers are keen to
reassure visitors to the Ohio State Fair, is past its sell by date and will be recycled.
Neil Armstrong was born in nearby Wapakoneta.
The
revelation that yet again taxpayers are going to top up Eskom with even more
billions is worrying Moody’s – one of the globe’s more influential ratings
agencies. They point out that despite the deluge of cash pumped into this utterly
incompetent and insolvent public utility, no turnaround plan for a permanent solution
has been tabled. Therefore, the cash handouts will simply continue to the obvious
detriment of the debt to GDP ratios and other mystical metrics which supposedly
provide indicators of financial health. The truth is that the state and probably
all its agencies spend far more than their incomes. These outfits are dead
broke. Moody’s will undoubtedly have to soon down-grade the nation’s credit
rating, which will result in everyone having to pay (a lot) more interest when
borrowing money from overseas.
Even the most
loyal fan of President Cyril must by now be puzzled by his apparent lack of
understanding of the seriousness of the situation. It is indeed a wonderment
that, when in the private business sphere, his skills and acumen earned him billions.
Why does he aspire to a draughty office in the dilapidated Union Buildings
where his main occupation seems to be briefing lawyers? Currently he is having
a full go at the Public Protector who has come to the conclusion that we need protection
from him. This is only one of her strange decisions, but she may also be taking
orders from elsewhere.
One wonders
just what the Zulu King Zwelethini had to say during his meeting with the Prince
of Wales in Wales this week to commemorate the 140th anniversary of
the battle of Isandlwana. Given his perennial shortage of money – partially perhaps
to do with having so many wives -- was he there to probe the question of a
winner’s bonus? Certainly, the photograph of the event seems to show the
representative of the losers in that battle looking as if he has mislaid his
wallet while the victor’s representative is wearing a look of happy
anticipation.
Winner’s
bonuses are a touchy subject over in New Zealand at the moment where the female
prime minister has got involved with the question of why the world cup winning Silver Ferns (women’s netball)
got nothing, while the second placed Black Caps (men’s cricket) were rewarded
with $2m. Hmm. Perhaps it’s not the moment to ask why the women who play 3 sets
at Wimbledon get the same prize money as the men who play 66% more tennis. Meantime
the All Blacks (men’s rugby) await the Springboks who last week beat the
Wallabies (men’s rugby team, now described by their fans as Useless). And then
there’s Shane Lowry, the Irishman who won The Open (golf) on an Irish course and
the Irish cricket team (who knew?) giving England a big fright at Lords just
ahead of the Ashes. And can a German and Frenchman driving Italian cars finally
shut out the Brit and the Finn driving German cars at Hockenheim? Will a
Frenchman at last break the drought and win Le Tour?
James
Greener
Friday 26th
July 2019
