Sorry for the silence. The perfect storm of family, travel, and work has buried me. Tomorrow I head to New Hampshire for a wedding and a couple of days in the old hometown. Hopefully these links will keep you off the streets:
The debate continues as to whether this is the greatest Springbok side ever. There are many reasons to support the assertion, but I cannot quite get the desultory loss to the British Lions in the (admittedly meaningless) third game earlier this year, or the Australia game from a couple of weeks ago when the Boks could have clinched the Tri-Nations (which, of course, they ultimately took in pretty convincing fashion all in all). We live in a temporal world where we are quick to anoint the most recent as being the greatest, the worst, the most appalling, and what have you. Suffice it to say that the 2009 Boks stand among the greatest of all South African teams, a fairly substantial accomplishment in its own right.
Gabon’s myriad opposition party leaders are, at minimum, unified in defeat, as they are challenging the country’s recent election results that declared victory for Ali Bongo, the son of Gabon’s long-ruling dictator Omar Bongo. Bongo supposedly won about 42% of the vote, a dubious total, to be sure, but then again, in a race with candidates numbering in the dozens, something like this was bound to happen. Perhaps some sort of united front before the election would have made sense.
Due to a threat of unknown provenance the United States kept all of its government facilities in South Africa closed for the second day in a row on Wednesday. Two quick points: 1) Do not conflate this with South African issues of crime. This is an American security issue, albeit one involving the South Africans as well. Do not categorize this story in the “problems in Africa” file. 2) Does the secrecy really help? It seems to me that just about the best way to foment suspicion and mistrust and paranoia is to keep everyone in the dark, thus allowing their worst suspicions to percolate.
Last Friday the African Union announced its plans to impose sanctions on Guinea’s junta leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, over his intention to run in upcoming presidential polls despite Camara’s earlier promises not to do so. Obviously there is little that the AU can do other than sanctions, but experience usually indicates that your typical junta leader does not quiver at the idea of economic isolation. The people of Guinea will suffer, to be sure, but Camara? Not so much.
Oh, Julius Malema, will your antics never cease to both vex and amuse? The latest? The ANC Youth League leader has been charged with assault. Apparently Malema klopped a neighbor at a party he hosted in Sandton over the weekend.
Finally, speaking of crime: The sun will rise, the sun will set, and every couple of weeks a story will appear indicating that folks are worried that violent crime will upstage the World Cup in South Africa next year. Sigh. Here is an open letter to two constituencies:
Dear Western Tourist: The chances that you will be beaten, stabbed, robbed, shot, raped, crucified, plundered, pillaged, burgled, eye-gouged, or clopped are quite small. You will, however, be price gouged, something that will drive those of us who travel to South Africa regularly quite mad, though not as mad as being confused with the dim, xenophobic lot of you.
Dear Media (Westyern and South African): Please stop fetishizing South African crime.
Thx — Yours in Fellowship and Football —
Derek
There. I feel better.