European Team Retain Ryder Cup

I managed to see quite a bit of this 2012 Ryder Cup, and had to see myself as a European Team supporter (being a South African with links to the Commonwealth). Saturday night was disappointing, with the You Ess Ay team leading by four points when I dozed off.

The amazing golf, team spirit and dramatics by some of the members are made for TV. A slick presentation with a commentary team well aware of the size of the viewing audience are watching in an enthralled state at the ebb and flow of the leader-board.

Which brings me to the only irritation of the presentation. The unsportsmanlike boo-ing of the European players by the very partisan American crowd every time they addressed the ball. The uneducated masses are, no doubt, the ones responsible for this boorish behavour. Even more disappointing was that the American players seemed to be encouraging it.

Winners in the face of unpleasant crowds - Ryder Cup 2012 Champions.

Once again the publicity hyped characters in USA, like Mickelson, Woods, & Bubba Watson were found to be wanting when faced with righteous passion and drive from the likes of Justin Rose, Ian Poulter & Sergio Garcia. Freedom, Liberty and Equality for all, indeed.

 

Malema hands himself in to police.

Julius Malema has handed himself in to the police prior to appearing in court on fraud & corruption charges. The average comments on this matter seem to think that as soon as he appears in court, the judge will pass judgement on evidence provided. Our system of justice doesn't quite work like that. The news reporters know this, but lead the public on in order to extend their news on the matter. They are every bit as responsible for "inciting the public" as are Julius Malema & our South African Police Service.

What will happen, is that big Malema's top legal team will do all the talking for him, and will ask for the case to be remanded to a later date in order for them to build up a defence for the case now that they know what the charges are. They have not been given this opportunity yet, as the charges only became available yesterday. As Julius Malema is not going to be considered a flight risk (seriously, where would he go to?), there is no reason to not grant him bail.

So, he will be walking around, drumming up public support using his biggest asset (the rhetoric from his arrogant mouth) before his next appearance in court, probably some time around the end of October or beginning of November. Even if he is eventually found guilty of the charges, a first offence invariably ends up with a fine, suspended sentence, or some combination of the two. So he will probably not be behind any bars in the forseeable future.

Pity, because it means we are in for some very vocal slanging of our ANC led government leaders from him before the end of year voting for the next ANC leader. As an average non-political South African, I just want a leader to be elected who aspires to peace, justice & progress in our potentially wonderful South Africa.

8.ta vs Vodacom vs MTN broadband prices.

This is a subject that wouldn't have affected too many people ten years ago, but, with the advent of smart phones and the number of people in South Africa that use them, the price of bandwidth is something that is affecting a growing percentage of our population.

 

For those that don't know what bandwidth is, an easy way to think of it is the amount of information you use on your wireless (or ADSL) connection through your service provider. Currently, we have the option of Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Virgin or 8.ta. There are more smaller ones, but they "piggyback" on those I have mentioned. I am going to concentrate on Vodacom, MTN & 8.ta

Currently it is possible to get a 24 month broadband contract from each of them. Vodacom & MTN are the old, original competitors in the field & keep a close eye on the others offerings. Over the years, they have swopped positions many times on who would be offering the best deals. Two years ago, Vodacom offered a  2gb per month contract for R199.00 (plus a bonus 2gb if you use it between midnight & 6 in the morning). As usual, MTN soon followed suit. MTN are now offering a 2gb contract for R149.00 per month. Better. But a year ago, I got a contract from 8.ta for 10gb per month for R199.00; which brings me to my gripe.

It seems to me that we are being overcharged - by MTN & Vodacom. We could be getting a lot more for our money. Admittedly, MTN & Vodacom have a far wider coverage. You can't get an 8.ta signal in Margate, St. Lucia, or Knysna, but this will change in time. So, even if the other two are investing much more on infrastructure for their service (plus it's upkeep), couldn't we be getting more for our money? I think we can.

Why do we need it? The technology that we use for doing business or just running our lives, (checking our medical aid web-site or updating our Windows operating system software) all relies on bandwidth used to connect to the internet. AND the files we download are getting bigger & bigger; so we need more bandwidth. Prices need to come down more to help us South Africans compete in the international market place. Our government is aware of this & has tried to assist by legislating better access and pricing, but I don't think enough is being done.

We need to look for better solutions, for all our sakes.

Proteas Cricket Team - Wayne Parnell

Proteas vs England - T20 Cricket - England 32 - Wayne Parnell 0

I have, over the past couple of years, been fighting a growing irritation at the inclusion of Wayne Parnell in our national cricket team. It has appeared to me, as if we lose the matches he plays in. I am aware that if I check the statistics, he will probably have been part of a winning team more times than my memory will allow me to remember. But this time I have to voice my opinion. 32 runs off his second over? The second highest number of runs in the history of T20 cricket. Sis.

Surely this will convince the selectors that Parnell should not be part of the long-term plans of our team. He has grit, he has attitude, he has ego, he has a dodgy reputation as far as drugs are concerned, and, I believe he has no BMT (Big Match Temperament).

Malema - Arrogance Personified

Malema: SA a banana republic

2012-09-12 15:55

Julius Malema (File, Sapa)

Johannesburg - South Africa is a "banana republic" that does not follow the rule of law, expelled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema said on Wednesday.

"No one is above the law, not the military, not the presidency, and not Parliament. Every court decision must be respected," Malema told about 60 soldiers in civilian dress at the Lenasia Recreation Centre, south of Johannesburg.

"We must respect the courts, but the leadership of this banana republic disrespects the courts."

He said government had not followed court orders in three instances.

It did not provide the Democratic Alliance the evidence in the case against President Jacob Zuma, had not delivered textbooks, and was not re-instating 1 100 soldiers put on special leave for marching at the Union Buildings in 2009.

The country's confidence in its leadership needed to be rebuilt.

"Your Commander-in-Chief [Zuma] is engaged in other things. You are a lesser priority. All of us are a lesser priority," Malema said.

"I don't know what is a priority to him, maybe getting married every year. He specialises on that one. Maybe that is what is going right for him.

"Here, children don't have books, people in hospitals don't have the necessary machines, they don't have roads or clean water."

Malema repeated an earlier accusation that Zuma was a dictator.

"These are the symptoms of dictatorship, a political principle in the form of a president becoming more rich and rich, and those that he is leading becoming more poorer and poorer."

Malema led the crowd in an alternative version of dubula ibhunu [shoot the boer] called "kiss the boer" before pointing his index finger to the sky.

After addressing the soldiers, Malema tweeted: "Defence Minister & Mr Zuma can remove the SANDF on high-alert now. We are finished with the mtng and there is no mutiny & no coup de tat."

Not surprised

Earlier, the SA National Defence Union (Sandu) said it was not surprising that soldiers invited Malema to listen to their concerns.

"Commander-in-Chief [President Jacob Zuma] has not lifted a finger to address [the] dire situation of soldiers, nor even taken the time to visit their bases... to listen to their problems, concerns and frustrations," said Sandu national secretary JG Greef.

In August 2009, more than 1 000 soldiers defied a military and court order and embarked on a wage protest at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The department of defence accused the soldiers of failing to obey orders, and failing to dissociate themselves from a violent protest and mutiny.

Last week, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the department and internal disciplinary proceedings began. Greef said the situation of soldiers had deteriorated since then.

"It is little wonder therefore that some soldiers would rather trust Mr Malema to at least listen to their concerns, rather than trust their own Commander in Chief, the President."

The situation within the military required decisive leadership, he said.

- SAPA

Marikana - Lonmin disaster.

As this is being written, the striking workers at the Lonmin mine (which will have some of the people recently released from jail on murder charges for the death of the 34 miners shot dead days ago) are staging a mass walk to the mine grounds. The South African Police have a presence on the roads, and are making futile attempts to stop the walk. As the crowd nears them, they are giving way & retreating to their armoured vehicles. This is in stark contrast to the recent shooting of 34 of the miners.

The shooting is going to be one of the times looked at as a course changing moment in time for our country. The only one seeming to be scoring out of this, is the recently ANC banned Julius Malema. The miners are suffering, the Trade Unions are losing face, The President, Jacob Zuma seems to be making decisions which are criticised by many (seemingly aimed at making his re-election impossible), the Minister of Police is being castigated, the mine management seem to be caught in the middle. They cannot give the workers a 300% increase in pay & still run the mine at a profit. As the mine provides a third of the worlds Platinum (used in car exhaust catalysers), it is of international importance that it keeps supplying its ore. So where is this going?

The deaths will not be repeated. Some kind of pay increase will be made. Car prices will go up.

The direct cause of this? Julius Malema started his demands for nationalising the mines last year. Persisting with this after being slapped down a bit by the ANC, ended with his being expelled from the organisation. Did he then keep quiet? NO! He has been telling the workers that the mines can afford to pay them their exorbitant demands. After the shootings, he appeared on the scene backing the workers, and somehow convincing the police to allow him a platform for giving a speech & to retreat from their lines. He is well aware that the ANC leadership has a director on the board of Lonmin. The press have incorrectly portrayed him as being dumb (due to failing exams which he didn't turn up to write). This is a shrewd man who has a part in this country's future, whether we like it or not.

Lady Justice & Civilisation?

While the question of "Justice" being decided by the authorities running the government wherever you happen to be living is often not seen to be fair, the International Courts of Justice seem to be unable to exert any meaningful influence on world-wide justice.

Many blogs, as well as the media news agencies have commented lately on the two cases I bring up below.

The Breivik case where he acknowledged killing 77 people, was found to be sane & guilty was handed the sentence of having to serve 21 years in prison. The rooms he will serve the sentence in were also shown, certainly better than millions of people in South Africa live in.

The following headlines speak for themselves.

Pakistan disabled girl arrested for blasphemy

Christians argue they are often falsely accused of blasphemy

Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• Q&A: Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws
• Climate of fear over Pakistan blasphemy laws

Pakistani police have arrested a mentally disabled 11-year-old girl after a mob accused her of desecrating pages of the Koran.

The mob demanded the Christian girl's arrest and threatened to burn down Christian homes outside the capital Islamabad, local media say.

Officials said the girl could not properly answer police questions.

Her parents have been taken into protective custody following threats and other Christian families have fled.

It is thought that the girl has Down's syndrome.

Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's minister for National Harmony, told the BBC that the girl was known to have a mental disorder and that it seemed "unlikely she purposefully desecrated the Koran".

"From the reports I have seen, she was found carrying a waste bag which also had pages of the Koran," he said.

"This infuriated some local people and a large crowd gathered to demand action against her. The police were initially reluctant to arrest her, but they came under a lot of pressure from a very large crowd, who were threatening to burn down Christian homes."

He said more than 600 people have fled from the Christian neighbourhood."

So, on the one hand we have a convicted murderer serving 10 to 21 years and on the other, an 11 year old Downs Syndrome girl arrested & being threatened with a death sentence for burning a part of the Koran.

What is highlighted by the contrasts here?

1. A civilized Scandinavian country doesn't impose death sentences, not even for the seemingly incredulous murdering of 77 people.

2. The troubled Pakistani government see's fit to arrest an 11 year old mentally challenged girl for burning a religious book with the intention of imposing a death sentence.

The root of the problem here is a religious one. Christians & Muslims. The Christian way is one of rehabilitation, whereas the Muslim response is far more extreme. this despite the repeated outbursts from passive Muslims saying their way is to "get on & live in peace" with those around them.

As a South African living in a country where the death sentence has been abolished and many are calling for it to be re-instated, I find myself wavering between supporting its return or not. Our government has steadfastly defended their stand of not taking lives for any crime. What we are aware of is that, somehow, retribution is found for many, by means not fair, but foul. "Live by the sword, die by the sword?"

For normal upright citizens, the answer is clear. Live a good life, try to be honest, treat those around you with respect & integrity. Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim, do what you know to be right!! The ultimate justice lies in your hands, don't put yourself in situations  where your "rightness" can be questioned.

"Be part of the solution, not part of the problem!"