Politics is the wealth game

Living in South Africa, a country where politicians have the privilege  of spending tax payers money as though it was their own down to an art. Now don't get me wrong, if they spent the money on valuable services and items that would benefit the country, then I would be writing this to applaud them instead of raise some major concerns.

The way I see and understand it is that number one- nobody is forced to become a politician. And number to, choosing that profession, one should realise that you are there to serve the public or citizens of the country, not yourself. It may sound simplistic, but this to me is the bottom line.

Having said that, we look at politicians worldwide and they all have one thing in common, whether you have a democratic, communist, dictatorship or any other type of government- they ALL live the life of the wealthy. They are well paid and have many benefits as well as being treated like gold when visiting other countries.
This is where my problem arises. Why and what makes this group of people so special that they have to always have the best and most expensive??

Most countries have poverty, some have it in truck loads, other's not so much. Still, how can anybody justify the waste of tax payer's money on luxury when your people have to go to bed hungry. There is no need to stay in 5 star hotels, eat at the best restaurants, drive expensive luxury vehicles, have entertainment that costs a fortune and so on. It is excess at it's best. There is also no need for this. Millions can be saved by politicians and this money used for education programs, health and other areas where it is needed.

In my view, it is pure arrogance that these people think they are so special and that they somehow deserve to have the best at their feet. If they were true leaders, they will choice the comfortable choice, not the one studded with gold and diamonds. Sadly this will not change because we, as the voters put up with it and many think they deserve this due the their pressure jobs as well as the facts as they are allowed to do it, so because it is not wrong, nobody does what is moral.

I guess this goes back to the earliest days of leadership and governments, and as much as little me hates it and see just how wrong it really is, it is not going to change anytime soon. Then again, who of them would like to change a lifestyle that they live and sadly we, as the citizens, do not get much out of the deal.

Although the first reality show was aired in 1973 (An American Family), Reality television really exploded in around 1999 and we have had some classics like Survivor, the early Big Brothers and Cops . Then came Idols, The Apprentice, Fear Factor, America's top model, The Amazing Race and so on. In the case of Idols and X Factor, the executives found a profitable way to exploit people who want to become rich and famous through using  their talent. But this is another article.

The need for reality type programs grew larger than that of scripted programs. As a result we have a glut of reality programs, including Miami Ink, Cake Boss and so on. There are a number of dating programs where some poor loser in love goes out to find his or her true love from a number of contestants. Further to this there are Job Seeking programs (e.g. Dream Job & Deadline), Sports (e.g.The Big Break, Knight school), Self improvement (e.g. Extreme Makeover, The Biggest Loser), Renovation (e.g.Complete Makeover, While you were out).....and so on and on and on and on.
Reality even made The Osbornes and Judges TV stars.

Not all of reality TV is bad or brain dead though. There are some that are educational or at least stimulate the mind- like Ghost Lab, Cops or Ice Pilots. Reality programs with an education have their place and I find them stimulating.
However there are those 'brilliant' ones like Kate plus 8 which celebrates the exciting (not) life of a woman who has landed up with 8 brats....wow.....it numbs my mind. Oh then there is the 'stimulating' show, Reality Wives which let's you into the life of a chap who collects wives like we collect socks. Let us not forget Toddlers & Tiaras, where we see children being violated in that they compete in an adult environment in beauty pageants against each other, with the mother and trainers pushing these poor kids from five to grown up in weeks. This in my view is as close to child abuse as is legally allowed.

There is no question that we are flooded with too much reality. People are searching for things to film, and it seems anything goes. When looked at in this perspective, The Truman Show takes on a new slant.

Obviously I have not named dozens of programs, but I am sure the point is clear. The glut of Reality shows  makes the well scripted programs less wanted and this is sad. I never thought there would be such a need and I will not even begin to predict if this will last much longer this fad will last.

I just hope it is not much longer.

Malema-The King of Friction

 The ANC Youth League is an offshoot of the ANC, which, as it implies, should deal with youth issues- this should include education, employment, sexually transmitted diseases, under-age pregnancy and so on. However the reality is far from it as the ANCYL seem to have nothing to do with youth issues and they seem to preoccupied with the power struggle in the ruling party.

Julius Malema, as the leader of the youth league of the ANC was instrumental in the overthrowing of Thabo Mbeki's kingdom and the placement of his then hero, Jacob Zuma to the throne. This gave him an elevation to power and afforded him a strong circle of protection from the Zuma Clan, which was then very powerful. Malema's famous words that he would 'die and kill ' for Zuma will never be forgotten.
Julius used this protection to set his mouth in motion in support of the government, Zuma and everything else he thought deserved his protection. His anti white sentiment, his racial slurs and his blatant attacks on the DA and Helen Zille went by with the tacit consent by the ANC.

Despite his R250 000 watch and his being driven in luxury cars, Julius set himself up as a champion for the poor- telling the masses, he lives poor. Even more amusing is how he admits to using capitalism to enrich himself, whilst fighting the same system from which he is getting rich from.
After his attempt to become a partner in a mine fell through, Nationalisation became the new buzz word and the new demand.

Slowly but surely Julius and the Youth League began to embarrass the mother body. For example- Going to Zimbabwe and stating that Mugabe was a great leader and they admired his land reform program. This is month after these very same leaders were condemning Mugabe for his lack of democracy and his hanging to on to power. Indeed, they were suddenly in awe of Mugabe as a leader and a land reform program that threw whites of their productive farms and dished them out to Mugabe loyalists and blacks who supported King Robert. As a result of this wonderful program, farming crumbled and Zimbabwe's last strong wing of their economy, collapsed as the newly distributed farms fell to ruin. What a program to admire Julius.

Somewhere along the way, the Zuma-Malema relationship began to sour. Malema's antics earned him a suspended sentence from the ANC mother body. This did stop him for a while, but Jules, being Jules could not keep his trap shut for long.

He went on a major offensive against the ANC and certain of it's leaders. He continued to romance the poor by pushing his 'nationalize everything' and anti white talk. He does, however, fail to explain how nationalization would filter down to make the poor rich. He also fails to mention the already state run organisations like Eskom, SAA or event he SABC, fail to make annual profits due to mis-management, fraud etc. Based on this, why would the mines and any other organisation the fool wants to nationalize be run any better. But the masses believe him, so he does not have to worry about the explanation or the truth.

I believe that Malema thought he was untouchable. He was under the impression that he could. do and say as he felt and there would be no recourse. How wrong he was.

Now he stands accused by the ANC of many charges and he is being investigated financially- as well as his trust, from which he lives and is reported to have benefited from dodgy tenders. The ANC is split between the Zuma Camp and the Malema Camp. Images outside his hearing were broadcast worldwide of Malema supporters turning Johannesburg into a battle zone, assaulting reports, attacking police, burning ANC flags, T-shirt and posters with JZ'z photo on them.

The truth is that Malema is bad for South Africa. He chased investment prospects from SA with the nationalization calls . The ANC can choose to dismiss Malema, thus setting him on his own and without the ANC, he will fade away.
Or, which is probably what they will do because of their weak leadership, is set him a rehab program etc. (He was supposed to attend anger management courses, but has failed to do so) We all know that this will not happen.
Any decision that does not involve expelling him from the ANC, will put him into a position of power and this will also indicate who really is cracking the whip. The ANC Youth League will be a King maker and this is a dangerous precedent to be setting.

The Rugby Rip Off Cup 2011

Today announces the beginning of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, held in the land of Quake- New Zealand. I am not aiming to be a spirit assassin in this posting, but the one thing that big events highlight is the predictable nature of corporate greed. Articles in both Aussie and NZ papers have complained about the high cost of both tickets and fan jerseys. Now, as I live in South Africa(The current World Cup Champs) I can only really comment on what I see from this country. 

You can go to certain shops and purchase a genuine world cup jersey for the far from economical price of around R600. Yes, for ONE jersey. Sadly people are not ashamed to fork out this massive cost for jerseys to support their country. I guess if you have the money why not? However, by loads of people purchasing these items at the wonderful price of R600, it sends a message to the corporates who benefit from the sales that this is acceptable. 

In my view it is far from this. They still have the utter nerve to have a tag saying 'Real supporters buy genuine' stuff- or something like that. 

The reality of the situation is that we have a country that has mass poverty and the majority of the people, of all races, are living from month to month with unemployment rising by the day. R600 feeds a family for a month- at a stretch. 

The alternatives to this are going down to your friendly shop at the robot (traffic light) where you can buy most things these days and spend R100-R200 for a non genuine item. Now, do not get me wrong- I do not support crime per se. However this is not a clear cut issue that many (usually those who can afford the R600 item) would want us to believe. 

Yes it may be wrong on some levels to purchase a pirate item, but those who do are forced into it by the greed of those whogain from the sales of the genuine item. Why should a supporter of his/ her country not have the right to purchase an affordable item to wear and show this support? Why must the organizations make a killing from items that actually should be priced cheaper as they not only show the support our team has, but it also creates a wonderful bond between the people of this country. As has been evident on many occasions, sport binds us. Therefor the government and sport governing bodies should be doing what they can to help everybody feel part of the occasion and not price it out of the reach of most of us. 

I will not feel guilty or place blame on anybody purchasing a pirate shirt as they will wear it proudly and support the springboks. The guilt of piracy lies at the door of those who gain from the ridiculous prices of items that should be cheap. (Having been made in China-serious!!)

Having said that, fans all over South Africa, wearing pirate and genuine jerseys will be supporting our Springbok team and we all hope they retain the trophy!

Complete SAPS home makeover.

Our South African Police National Commissioner, General Bheki Cele is in the news again. A while back the Public Protector launched an investigation in him signing a Billion Rand least agreement for police Headquarters. It was found that he acted without a mandate and he did not follow procedure. His response- blame the Department of public Works and officers under him. This is after he announced the least some months back.

And now, this career politician who has never even know a police uniform until he became the boss everything police, is at it again.

He is launching an investigation into the police officers who purchased and furnishes his new residence in Waterkloof, Pretoria. ( an upmarket suburb). The house itself was a give away at R3 million and then apparently these interior decorating officers spend a further R1,2 million on furnishings etc. Now of course the first time he knew of this was the big unveil and he walked in and probably almost passed out because they knew his taste so well.

How stupid does this dude think we are? He needs to own up to his responsibility and accept when he screws up. His whole gung-ho style is more that of a gangster than a police boss. But then, as I said- he is a career politician and in SA, if you are on the right (or rather left) side, you are well looked after by the powers in charge. As long as he dances tot he correct tune, his position is safe...and our money is there for the spending.

Royal waste of tax money

I have held my tongue about this issue, hoping that it would not get on my nerves enough for me to write about it- well, sorry to say it has.
The fairytale wedding of Prince Willy and Kate M. Now, for one I cannot understand why there is such a buzz about this. Granted he is a Prince, but really, this is not the 1800s and let's face it, the royal family concept is pretty outdated. The times when the royal family had a real function in a country or to a certain people is long gone, yet the tax payer forks out millions to support these noble leeches. So, why then are we so excited about it- especially the British, who will be funding the obviously lavish event? And of course, the honeymoon!
Do they not realize that most of them really won't be invited, or do they think there is some kind of benefit in this union for the public?

Perhaps it awakens the romantic in people- a fairytale prince charming (which let's face it, Will is not) marrying the woman of his dreams. I do not buy it. It is being seen as the wedding of the decade and the next big think since Big Ears married Lady Di. Ho hum.

I am not going to harp on about this, but just need to get it off my chest.
In my view, the royal leeches should be made to get real jobs or if they insist on leeching funds from the public, do community benefiting work for at least 5 days a week. Earn the money they are being given. And this goes for royalty worldwide. The public's taxes go to supporting their lavish life style, and while the average tax payer battles to get by and eats basic foods, with few luxuries, his or her tax goes to give the royal's a diamond lifestyle, full of wow cars, expensive foods, the best drink and wonderful holidays anywhere in the world.
How stupid is the public to just accept this?

I guess pretty, based on the fact that these millionaires live the life of the top cats, while  really not giving much benefit to their subjects nor having much  say in the country in which they reside or 'rule' over.
Long live the royals hey.
Yawn...

Congats to our two news job fillers.

I thought we would kick the week off with a typical tale from our government.

Our Mpumalanga Premier- David Mabuza once had this spokesman- Mabutho Sithole. Our esteemed Mr Sithole was bust and subsequently arrested for bribing a City Press jouro, Sizwe Sama Yende with the hefty amount of R5 000. (now given the government's disregard for the value of money-Yende must have been well aggrieved about the tiny amount) Yende was investigating a R230 million agricultural tender awared in 2008 by the Premier's office to the Premier's former business partner, Patrick Chirwa. Sithole is out on R6 000 bail.

Mabuza announced that Sithole was being removed from his post, for time off to deal with his case. At the time, Sithole was under a 5 year contract. In no way was any internal action taken of course, because, let's face it, there is nothing wrong with the odd bribe and of course, it was for a good cause- to protect Mabuza it would seem.
Fast forward to the present, Mr Sithole has now been appointed Director of Community Outreach-this being a permanent job. Of course nobody in the Premier's office sees anything wrong with filling a position without following the required legal process or in contravening the Public Services Act by changing his contract to permanent. (The post had been vacant, and was not advertised for, as is required by law)

Apparently the Director General saw it fit to allow Sithole to work in government, pending the outcome of his trial and he would not be suspended.  As for the not following procedures- it was a 'horizontal move', which they are allowed to do without following procedures apparently.So well done Mr Sithole on the new position. I am sure you will very well there.

And the good news does not stop there, I would like to congratulate Mike Mabuza for being transfered to a senior post in the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration. The post also was not advertised, but I see their logic- it was also a horizontal move seeing that Mike was a policeman before the transfer.

You have to love it...and we wonder where our tax money goes!

The search for ET life goes on...and on...

Reading in The Star yesterday I came across and article where a Dr Howard Smith, a senior astrophysicist at Harvard University states a)That the chance of discovering alien life is remote and b) If we did, it would be almost impossible to make contact with them.
Smith states that of the 500 planets discovered outside our solar system, are either to close or to far away from their sun (thus too hot or cold to support life) or have unusual orbits, thus not allowing water to remain in a liquid form. (Water being essential for life as we understand it).
Based on this he say- 'The new information we are getting suggests we could effectively be alone in the universe.' He further goes on to say, 'There are very few solar systems or planets like ours. It means that is is highly unlikely that there are any planets with intelligent life close enough for us to make contact.'

How arrogant. So, in his assumptions, I guess unless we find life on a planet close to ours, it cannot be intelligent.

There are billions of galaxies in our universe and it really simplistic to assume that we are the only life around. Furthermore, seeking life only on what we understand is also very limiting. More and more organisms on earth have been found thriving in extreme conditions (High and low temperatures, without oxygen etc), thus it would seem pretty logical for the people who search for this extra terrestrial life, to broaden their parameters and definitions. There may just be intelligent life on a planet that is thick with helium and has temperatures close to zero degrees Celsius or lower. Shock and awe, they may not even need oxygen to survive as their body make up would be so different compared to us oxygen breathers.

Stephen Hawking and the late Carl Sagan both believed there was life on other planets. Both saw this as rational based on the size of the universe.

As for the contact with alien life is concerned, this is a bit more complicated. The chances of a two way conversation between planets would be remote, given the distance and our barrier of speed, being that below light speed.
However, there are some theories. One would be the much talked about wormholes, which would allow space travel over large distances in the blink of an eye. We could also assume that they are either more advanced that we are or may have a better understanding of the universe and it's laws, to know how to manipulate them for their own use. Even if they are the same age as humans, it would be safe to assume their growth took on a different road to ours and that they would know and have things we don't, as we would know and have things they don't.

Neither travel nor communication between two or more space civilizations would be conventional, that we can safely assume. But that does not mean that there are not other means. The same as discovering life on another planet or body, whether it be a single celled organism would be ground breaking. We need to break past our idea that to be intelligent one needs to be of humanoid build and to be alive one must breathe oxygen.  Rules on earth regarding life, may not apply elsewhere.

There may be alien astronomers looking at earth and saying it is too cold for life, besides, it has to much oxygen to support life anyway.

Crash and Burn

South Africa is a land blessed with many things- wonderful weather, awe inspiring scenery, wild animals, powerful thunderstorms and mostly friendly people.
Having said this, South Africa is known more for it's negatives- crime, abuse, lousy education and health care system, corruption....and so on.

Another alarming topic is our driving. During the Soccer World Cup last year, many visitors expressed how aggressive our drivers were and that there is a total lack of respect for laws. Sadly this is the case. Although up to date figures are difficult to come by, I came across some interesting figures. In the UK, it is reported some 2222 (2009 figure) die annually....that is over twelve months! In Japan the figure is 4919 (2009), Sweden-270 (2010) and Israel 370 (2009). These figures come from a World Health Organization Report. In New Zealand over the holiday period ending 2nd January 2011, 11 people died on their roads and Australia there were 40 odd! Both were shocked at the high number.

In South Africa, from 1 December till the 5th of January, we had 1551 road deaths. ( This total is in dispute as it is known that the Department of Transport plays with the figures to reduce the levels)
It is estimated our monthly toll stands at around 1 000.

It goes without saying that this figure is way to high for any civilized country with a decent road infrastructure.
The main reasons given are drinking and driving and speed. Also the pedestrian death toll is pretty steep. Overloading is another cause. Our so called taxi's and buses are packed to capacity as this means extra profit- and as a result, when there is an accident, the chance for large amounts of injured and fatalities is increased.

The minister of transport, Sbu Ndebele, thinks the answer lies with 'driver training, enforcement and education.' Apparently this information will focus on teaching the public that such a high death rate is not natural-like any fool really needs telling.

As for Arrive Alive- it advertises on radio, TV and print media- yet, despite some of the adverts being shocking, it does not sink in. As for enforcement- well, the metro police are usually up for a bride, so many drunk drivers get home safely by some miracle because they have the correct amount of cash in their wallets to purchase a 'get out of jail free card.' This goes for most offences though and the fact that many times the metro police ignore offences when they are not in the mood to work.
Then there is the fact that politician get off with a slap on the wrist. (Eg Dan Kguthule-escaped a mandatory jail sentence and still keeps his licence for almost going double the speed of the limit).
This sends the wrong message to the public, who think that they may do as the examples set by the well known people of this country.

To make a difference we need a decent judicial system, we need hard working and un-corrupt law enforcement people and most of we all need to take responsibility on our own shoulders each time we get behind the wheel.

Why can't we all just get along?

The ANC Youth League never ever cease to amaze me with the depth of their stupidity.

Their latest brilliant statements have been about that passive little country north of South Korea- Indeed, we are talking about North Korea. Led by the humanist Kim Jong-il, who the learned member of the Youth League describe to aptly as 'a great guardian of peace'- indeed, the same esteemed leader who promised to reign down nuclear fire onto the West, is seen my our great leaders as a 'guardian of peace.'. Inspirational.

The genius that is the ANCYL secretary, Floyd Shivambu, further displayed his inability to either think, or his lack of any knowledge of news that goes on outside of his tiny mind by proudly stating, 'Who says North Korea is pursuing nuclear weapons? It is not true. It is sensationalism by the American media. They are pursuing nuclear energy and not nuclear weapons.'
Well said Floyd. However, if you read a newspaper (and assuming you can read of course), you would have known, that the wonderful 'guardian of peace' announced during February that North Korea was a nuclear power, and since, has re-stated this as a threat to the West (as all pacifists do). Furthermore, if Mr Floyd could think, he would have worked out that North Korea have exploded nuclear test devices, a process not needed if you were pursuing energy goals.

Added to this, our esteemed president Zuma, is now set to sit down with South Korea, whom we all know has a warm and fuzzy relationship with the their North Korean Neighbours, and as them for investment in South Africa.
Nothing more needs to be said. This is how our government operates.