Paul De Sousa

Are any of those in Durban? My father-in-law is from Durban and we were talking tonight about making a trip in 2010.

I am not really sure. sorry.

Where did you get these pics, Rush? One of them has an Olympic logo on the roof. Bit suspect.

I do recognise the Durban one though – pretty sure it’s the top one although it’s right next to the beach, which makes the surrounding geography on the model a bit weird.

Just as an aside, and as I commented in my 5th July post: http://www.ballacorkish.net/6000/index.html#61 – something really big will have to happen for this to be any good. HAs anyone at FIFA realised it’s going to be staged in the middle of winter as well?!?

Just send the 2010 world cup here so I can go to it

To see why many south africans feel that tourists won’t be safe, have a look at http://southafricaiscrap.blogspot.com and http://www.crimexposouthafrica.org

Is there a reason the field/stadium they are building looks like a HUGE Vagina?

of course.

It’s to accomodate dicks like David Beckham.

hahaha sharp. i truly hope south africa makes something out of this. and i hope this is the call for the government to wake the fuck up and start fixing this place

That is quite the look (if they can pull it off).

They look really sharp.. and after 2010 they will become empty ruins :/

As a South African having emigrated to England a year ago I would say that not only is South Africa under ANC rule incapable of hosting the world cup but the crime rate is terrifying. There are something like 75 murders a day and white women are being singled out for rape. The South African rape rate is the highest in the world.
I think that many unwary tourists will be murdered, raped or robbed.
Australia or USA would make a much better venue.
To get a better idea of what is happening in South Africa have a look at these web sites. http://www.crimexposouthafrica.co.za and http://www.africancrisis.org .
South Africa is following Zimbabwe down the toilet stay clear for your own safety. ( I wish to stay anonymous because the secret police in South Africa make a note of anybody that tries to uncover the crime in South Africa and they are identified as enemies of the state.)

I would just like to say that any one out there planning to visit South Africa for the 2010 world cup shout seriously start following the new everyday until then as crime in South Africa is on the rise, despite all the bullshit from the politicians. The South African Police Service are totaly bias towards blacks and is racism in reverse, only ten time worse. Tourists will get a big surprice if they think that they will be safe then, because the SAPS can’t even do their jobs now, nevermind when there will be millions of tourists during the 2010. Remember that we do not have proper berder control and that SA has became an affirmative shopping ground for BOB Mughabe’s criminals.

THINK TWICE, WATCH THE NEWS AND GIVE IT TO A COUNTRY TAHT DESERVE IT.

I LIVE here in SA and i can tell you all that this is all BS!
There are not plans to build these dream stadiums.
I got this email and it said these were for germany.

TYPICAL MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN WHINEY-ASS BULLSHIT.

In all the time I’ve been here, I have attended several government meetings to address views of the people. I had no real benefit for attending since I don’t even live here. Just plain curiosity.
Hardly 10% of the attendees were white (I include myself in this generous quota of attendees). Left me wondering about whether the others actually had any right to bitch about the state they find themselves in (it’s most likely the same people who didn’t ever take part in voting, either).

There is a phenomenal culture of impish bratting. What have YOU done to contribute to YOUR community’s problems? Start a care system, know your neighbours, feed the hungry kids you drive by, make muffins for the cops that patrol your posse – whatever! Just do SOMETHING.

I don’t think this country (which you claim to be yours) deserves an extra kick in the teeth…the rest of the world will provide that service for free.
This behaviour is classically that of those who don’t consider themselves a part of the team.

For as long as you maintain an attitude of ‘deserving better than you’re getting’, you’re all screwed. Hey – it would suck to lose my job to an unqualified, dullbrained native for no apparent reason, but your constitution defends you against that. If you paid closer attention, you would know this. When was the last (even first) time you saw someone get fired because they found a black version with no qualifications for the job? I believe that is illegal and unheard of – but I guess many people are happy to believe the worst (this offers some sense of conscience exoneration should these people become failures in life).

It may not have occured to your clouded peabrain (you know who you are), but you may definitely be in the wrong country. Look to Siberia – at least it’ll be an all-white place.

I think you should look at the stats before you write all this bullshit, a typical uneducated comment. I wonder how you would feel if your wife gets raped at gun point and a gun at your head. You should live in reality before you write all this bullshit. What have we done for our community? More that your narrow minded people are willing to admit.

This country is plagued by crime, and it is mostly the people from abroad like Zimbabwe, and our country is absolutely doing nothing to prevent this.

But if you are so worried about our country, why don’t you open community centers and all the other bullshit you are talking about, so that you could get killed by those you are trying to help. I am married to a pom, and don’t try to tell as bullshit, we know of all the nonsence that is going on in your country as well.

May you should go to Siberia, it might bring you back to reallity. Particullary if you are from the UK. Look at how many countries you have fucked up in the past, for who? The Queen. Get real. Sweep in from of you own door first. Idiot.

Just as I expected – insubstantial puffery. Let me clue you in, Meneer:

* Stats? Those are everywhere in the world. Do you honestly believe that RSA is the only getting plagued by murder, rape, theft, etc? We get mugged, murdered and harmed on London streets in broad daylight. RSA does not have patent rights on these events. It is much more prominent here because of the higher poverty ratio and naysayers like you. Who started it? I’d say 300 years of training people to believe that they are inconsequential, good-for-nothing savages tends to have repercusions on any nation. Chew on that for a while, Mr Middle-class.
* What have YOU done for YOUR community? The question remains unanswered on your part. I’m definitely not Mother Theresa’s incarnate, but here’s a micron of what I’ve done in my 2.5 years here:
- I have spent every weekend in the lat 7 months taking care of orphans in shelters,
- met magnificent white South Africans who are much more optimistic about their own damn country (having a black friend is not just a passive social statement to them)
- I have come to realise that if you’re born into privilege, you’re likely to hang onto it with dear life. We’ll call you ‘Exhibit A’
- I have learnt not to assume – from +/-25 million black people in the country you have chosen too few categories – tsotsi, maid, BEE miscreant, roadside beggar and rapist. Your lilly-white vision seems tunnelled. You may not be aware of this, but those categories exist in EVERY demographic – but I guess stating that on your own would prove your argument as watery. I know phenomenal black South Africans with enviable minds, high-end education, deep tolerance and a beaming smiles – in spite of sharing a country with people like you.
* As far as Zim, you may have a point (only just), but people from here went to Zim when apartheid took teenagers, killed them off in the middle of the night by the hundreds. So it’s hardly surprising that in Zim’s time of need, they will seek refuge here. Besides, what are neighbours for, if not for helping each other. (The preceding sentence was rhetorical – look up the word ‘rhetorical’)
I anticipate you to have a word about RSA’s “quiet diplomacy”. No, it’s working in small ways because South Africans can STILL go into Zim (unlike us) to help in small, unpublicised ways – I don’t expect to see you raising your lotioned hand to offer help. Doing what Blair & Bush did would be wrong & stupid – but I guess your interest goes only as far as the poor white farmers. Nuff said on that.
* And then lastly – To think that you refer to your wife as ‘a pom’ (not even a shred of respect use a Proper Noun…), have atrocious spelling and a right-wing mentality, yet you plead your case as worthy. You silly, brat.

Like I said, be a victim yourself, then you can talk, otherwise fix the problems in your own country. And by the way, you should know the difference between middle-class and rich, idiot. Once again, uneducated comment.

Corne Fourie for president!

Yeah! Corny Fourie for President! Someone needs to stand up for Idiots!

hey dont mind me, I am just trying to incite a riot on my own website. Its good for hits you know.

Thanx Rush. At least we are trying to bring people to reallity and try to make our country a safer place. Once we realise the true facts and problems of this country, and not try to blame all the problems on some “TYPICAL MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN WHINEY-ASS” – like some people that does that not even have the courage to write under their proper name – we can start bringing out the true potential of our country again. Wierd that 30 years ago South Africa was one of the richest countries in the world, under the rule of our “TYPICAL MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN WHINEY-ASSES”, wonder what happend now?
People’s education levels are measured on the comments they make, not the narrow minded way of thinking of some people that blames every thing that is wrong in Africa on the rest of the Western World, and start understanding the respectful difference between black, white, colored etc, and not the empowering of Leaders that brings countries in havoc and riots for their own political enrichments. If you are a true patriot, you fight for the well-being of your country, not just certain individuals, because if the country is doing well, the people is doing well. But, hey don’t mind me, I’ll run for president for the idiots. Right is right, wrong is wrong, rape is rape and fraud is fraud, there is no political correct terminology for this, or in some cases now in this country, robbery is refered to now as “affirmative shopping.” And hey, don’t get me, read between the lines, South Africa is one of the most beautifull places in the world. I am furtunate enough to live anywhere in the world, but I choose stay here and fight for what is right, and forget about the propaganda that is spread through out the media.

Oh and by the way, an “ASS” in this country is a donkey, which is still used in many cases as a means of transportation by the poor, and i quote, “(not even a shred of respect use a Proper Noun…)” -Asshole-
wonder who the narrow minded whiney asshole is now?

And here is a little comment from my wife, the “POM”

“Muffins for the cops who patrol your posse” What patrol????? When you have any idea what it is like to have a gun pointed at your head, while they rip your jewellry from your body, then and only then will you have the knowledge, understanding and feeling for what it is like to be in this situation. As for the cops who patrol, they arrived 3 hours later to the crime scene as they were using the patrol vehicles as a taxi.

Within a week if this happening, three other families known personally to by husband and myself suffered the same fate . On a previous occassion direct relations suffered the same fate in their home.

I would further suggest that as you obviously have supersonic vision (I say this as you appear to be able to see from thousands of miles away what “class” of people we are) that you would already have seen that we have donated clothes, toys and vidoes to an orphanage and then you take a good look at the people in other orphanages here and then try to explain to them why, when they rely on donations to survive they are also robbed at gunpoint.

Furthermore if you had a proper IQ and not that one of a mushy pea you would know that being called a “pom” is a term of endearment from my husband and friends and carries a lot of respect. Please crawl back under that stone you crawled out of and do some serious thinking about the truth and not what you think you may know before you re-emerge.

And to conclude, what do we do for our community, you should think twice, because rich whiney asses like us employee a lot of people with skills development programs to uplift the poor and community, but in africa it is a sin to be rich, but without us, dumb fucks like you won’t have a job.

We are not gioing to reply to your bulshit again, as it is a waist of valuable time, but being in a family that is pound milionares over and over, I take it as a compliment to be called midlle class because I do not act myself better than others. Fuck off to the hole you ceawled out from.

One last thing, you should seriosly go back to school, people from apartheid did not kill teenagers etc in ZIM, Zim did it to the white people in that country. They threw out all the white farmers and now they are starving, I suddenly wonder why. Coca Cola in Zim cannot even buy syrup because the Zim banks do not have enough forex to pay for it. But since you sound like such a big boy with balls of steel I invite you to make your wonderful idealistic views work in this country. At least the apartheid South Africans did not throw women and children in concentration camps like the English did in this country. And talk about rape, at least we do not rape nine month old babies of our own kind because it might be a mirricle cure for aids. You are totally fucked up, uneducated brat.

I\’d just like to throw in a few ripe bananas into this mix.

The english did not only put south africans into concentration labour camps, they did it to over 160 000 kenyans in the 50\’s

(google for David Anderson’s Histories of the Hanged and Caroline Elkins)

history is full of English atrocities, Edward Longshanks comes to mind.

but hey this debate started out discussing as to whether South Africa will be able to pull off 2010

My stance is that without major outside help and major expenditure, SA 2010 is doomed to be a failure. And even with the major expenditure there will be rife pilfering of the coffers thus negating the profitability of the world cup. Sure we might make a few billion through tourism but we\’ll lose billions more through neglect, outside consultancy, bribes, skimming off the top, you name it.

How do I know this? because I was involved briefly with the taxi association and the recapatilization process from a support point of view for their payroll system. A venture that is not only supported by every taxi owner in the country but by also every taxi association head, the minister of transport and even Trevor Manual (250 000 taxi drivers and not a single one paying Tax, I daresay Mr Manual wants his finger in that pie.)
And the ludicrousness of that particular venture is that every one wants other people to do the work, yet not a single one will do the work or even comply to timely meeting schedules.

When they hear money, they all vote in favour of the money but when they learn that there is work to be done, they all turn to the person next to them to find out who is going to do the work.

I attended a meeting at the offices of GATACO (Gauteng Taxi Association) to discuss hardware for a system for payroll and lo and behold half way through the meeting one of the board members gets up and leaves, and returns a few minutes later with his lunch in a polastyrene container and starts to consume his steak and mielie meal lunch with his hands. In front of a board consisting of his peers of big shots.

Now if that is not only neanderthal and a display of the type of problems this country faces then God Help us.

The sooner that people learn, regardless of your colour or race or creed, that if you do not earn your way because of merit, then you should not have your job. The major problems exist because of the black mentatility that they are owed something.

Fuck that, theres no such thing as a free lunch, even if you are prepared to eat it with your hands.

end of story.

Thanx Rush, I think they should make you Chairman of the 2010 World Cup Committee. There is much more logistics in this involved that people wants to admit. It would be nice if we would be able to host this successfully, because as a business owner I would benifit a lot through this, but I don’t see it happening in my life time because this bit was done for the wrong reasons, (maybe to proove a point that Africa can host such an event), not to benefit South Africans.

hell no thanks.

but thanks for the vote of confidence

I admire your talents at identifying the flaws – all of you. What I’m yet to see is your ability to generate solutions. I have a great deal of faith in this country. I’m no stranger to South African crime. If I were to repeat my sad stories, that would make me no better. Besides, trading insults is getting boring now.

I could sit here writing volumes about this subject, but Corné, your changed opinions of what this country CAN do is certainly satisfactory to my ego.
Nonetheless, you should be embarrassed for roping in your wife.

Mrs Corné Fourie, stop with the righteous indignation – although I find your story unfortunate, your language is filthy (for one who claims to be of a certain class) and your actions deplorable. That is an automatic demerit to the believability of anything you have to say.
Did you know that you have the right to speak to the Chief of your police station if you witness or prove abuse of resources (or the community)? Whites are not the only victims of crime – it’s not that you’re all that special. On top of this, you have the right to follow up on corrective action. That’s up to you. Stop blaming your world. If you’re so unhappy living here, then go back home. I get the feeling that the generous R1 200 which you give to your 60-year old domestic worker, to live on for a month, could be better used on buying you a ticket outta here. Take this as good, free advice.

Rush, your experience with an offensive person who devours his food with hands in the middle of a meeting is a matter relating to his breeding. I have no interest in defending that. I’m almost sure you agree that this is not a representation of every black African. In fact, I think other black Africans would be equally appalled had they witnessed the same.

My whole point to this blog is that people expend too much energy chanting from the sidelines as their lives get blown about. Talk is easy and talk is cheap, Corné. Any pusillanimous miscreant can do that.

Lastly, for people who criticise so enthusiastically, you certainly suck at taking it.

Grant Smith

As a kid I loved star wars, I mean really loved the movie, I watched it a number of times, and one day a friend who had not seen the movie decided to watch it, not even halfway through the movie, my friend already had an opinion and his own personal views. Which he felt was better than mine (not withstanding the fact that I had watched the entire original trilogy countless times before him) yet he already perceived himself a quarter way through the first movie as being an expert on star wars.

Turns out my friend was something of a dumbass.

And thats the way I see you Grant Smith, you have faith in this country when you dont have all the facts. When you havent lived here long enough to see the wood for the trees.

and Grant, your view is that the government official who eats his lunch with his hands during a directoral meeting is that he lacks better breeding?

THATS EXACTLY THE FUCKING POINT!

How can this country run effeciently and expect to host a successful world cup when you have “bad breeding” in top government posts?

Rush, as a mild follower of sport, I got to learn a lot about human behaviour. These are my observations:

The loudest noise comes from the spectators. These are the people who sit on the benches with a cool beer, under shading. They have a lot to say about the players and the game. “The tackles are weak, the pace is slow, there’s no co-ordination, the players are inferior!” Et cetera.
If their elected team loses a match, they are louder than ever. They completely abandon their stars, while belching to free more beer space in their bellowing guts.
Then you get those that continue to cheer their players on in the face of adversity, remembering their pledge to support through good times & bad. Often, the extra support keeps the team motivated – and even if they don’t win, the players know that they gave it their best shot and are determined to improve where they went wrong.
Such teams have statistically been proven to stay together and do better. Logically.
Take this analogy and apply it to South Africa.

You may very well get away with branding me as ignorant, but I struggle to see your basis for doing so. If anything, I have proven to understand your landscape better than you. Do you even know who represents your municipal district? Don’t bother answering that.

You are an individual. There may be some things you do that offend or disgust other people. Does that mean every white South African should be penalised on your behaviour alone? A finer example of this is Eugene Terreblanche.

It would suit your cause to state that the country is run by savages, but those savages have been courteous enough to accept apartheid offenders as part of this country and its cultures. By right, it could have been much worse.
It’s hardly been 2 decades under a new dispensation, and you expect 300+ years of brutality to be reversed and neutralised to the point where everyone is equal? A highly unrealistic expectation. I know that the lowest literacy rates are black. The majority of the impoverished are black. The highest criminal ratio is black. What does that say about the circumstances under which they had to survive?
These are the people who were castigated for wanting their spot in the sun, but the state wasn’t going to give them that! Why should it when your washing was to be done, your garden watered and your rosy baby bum was to be wiped? Instead, the state wanted to pay for your grandparents’ business favours, your world-class education and maintain your pristine neighbourhood. As you sit in front of your PC, expressing your opinions, bear the following in mind – you have what you have as a contribution by the apartheid government into the coffers of your predecessors. Don’t even claim that you didn’t benefit. If your grandparents were failures, that wasn’t because they were denied.
Hendrik Verwoerd wasn’t stupid – evil, but not stupid!
Given that you’re a movie fanatic, I strongly recommend that you watch Sarafina. I met several white South Africans who found the movie unpalatable, then after viewing it, they usually broke down in tears. To think that it represents everything that your blue eyes were sheltered from. Everything that up to 1990, was a way of life for your black child. Perhaps if you took the time to see another’s point of view, your world would make a little more sense.

The poor breeding is a result of the state trying to guarantee YOUR welfare.

These are the things that shaped the people you now have to report to – those very same ill-bred blacks with no manners. I bet if “they” had the same pampering as the average white South African for the past 120 years, they’d be a damn sight magnificent, too.
Affirmative action brought about some change because it had to. Would you willingly pick up an underprivileged person to make a successful engineer/MD/analyst from? Probably not. Hands had to be twisted, otherwise it was perpetuating the same legacy under a new flag.
I’m curious to learn if you would trade places with an average black person.
Considering that you’re not a bona fide part of the South African team step back and wash your hands of this country. “They” have to start somewhere. Move out of “their“ way. They have a team to cheer on, leadership to assume and finesse to learn. 2010 is coming whether you like it or not (and I bet you’ll be only too happy to accept “their” cheques for your hardware services).

Ahem.

Not only do I know who represents the local council for my area, I have also met with them various times in order to exchange policies and ideas regarding all sorts of municipal issues.

I am also currently involved in building a non profit community website for my area.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Also before trying to judge who or what I am, bear this in mind :
I grew up in this country as a minority, the child of immigrants so please spare me the bullshit.

I consulted for a number of months for free without receiving a cheque, so again check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Grant, You keep talking yourself into a knot. I suggest you leave this be because you have no knowledge of the present, only your perceived notions which have been nurtured for too long from behind your rose tinted glasses.

You think it was only blacks that suffered? You need to revisit the history books my boy.

The apartheid regime sure was shitty, but thats still no excuse to have illerate uneducated people in government positions and thats what my gripe is about.

It’s the best man for the job as far as I am concerned and not “Hey I feel your pain, heres a nice cushy job with a million a year in bonuses just cause I feel sorry for you”

You mean you actually did your civic duty? WOW!
Rush, get yourself infected with The Clap – that’s probably the only applause you’re ever gonna get. Or would you rather have me write The Pope to have you canonised? Rush, Patron Saint of Derision & Self-Pity?
Immigrant is a far cry from black South African, Rush. Give it up.

If you took the time to properly read the content of my comments, it would have occurred to you that you’ve just regurgitated my words and sentiment…

“For as long as you maintain an attitude of ‘deserving better than you’re getting’, you’re all screwed. Hey – it would suck to lose my job to an unqualified, dullbrained native for no apparent reason, but your constitution defends you against that. If you paid closer attention, you would know this. When was the last (even first) time you saw someone get fired because they found a black version with no qualifications for the job? I believe that is illegal and unheard of – but I guess many people are happy to believe the worst (this offers some sense of conscience exoneration should these people become failures in life).”

You keep ranting blue murder but aren’t forthcoming with what you did to rectify the injustice you once experienced! Fess up, Rush!
I think most people reading this blog would be so happy to support your cause – even I would! As a matter of fact, put out the name and details of your charity organisation. I’m sure I can make a few calls to rally some support for the wonderful people you’ve given to so diligently. They are forever in your debt, O Mighty Rush.

I’m starting to think that a direct racist is better than your kind. You’re the kind that will smile and nod in people’s faces and the general public, then go home to curse at the very people you were smiling and joking with, while chewing the steak you bought with money they paid to you. At least, proper racists are honest about their stance.

Back to basics – 2010 is coming in spite of you.

Do you think that by being condescending and somewhat sarcastic is going to help you to be seen as a little more educated?

Well its not, in fact it clearly shows your level of playing field, next you’ll be name calling. Nice touch there Lad.

So the minute I admit to executing any kind of civic duty it’s turned around and met with sarcasm as some bid to try and discredit me even though you were the one ranting and raving when I shot you little rant full of holes you had to try and come up with some deaming little banter to make yourself seem better than what you are?

Thats a school boy bully tactic that often gets seen right through, but hey, you seem all knowing so you probably knew this already.

You think Immigrant is a far cry from being black? well how about not only having the blacks hate you but also the whites and especially the english?

I really think you need to grow up, grow a set and to deploy another intellectual tactic.

Hahaha!
You were wrong and you lose. It’s a pity you were the last one to discover this tragic fact.
- I definitely AM educated – very well, at that; hence the difference in my qualities and yours.

- Name-calling? Me? Never! I just call a bigoted, sanctimonious, morally-defective meathead just that! Crying foul about the English in South Africa? Sit your TYPICAL MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN WHINEY-ASS down. Did the bad kids call you ugwy namey-wameys? Hide your pwetty school case? Awww… My heart pumps lumpy custard for your migrant backside! Grow up!

- As far as wanting your applause, place your right palm on your left shoulder blade then pat until you feel better. If you and Corné can combine whatever’s left of your inferior neurons, you might pat each other until the tears stop welling in your bullied eyes.

- Considering that (by your own admission) my intellectual abilities have outmaneuvered yours, I rest my case.

Hi Rush, ignore this guy, he totally misses the point because I have not seen him make one suggestion how we can make this world cup work. He is making this site a political issue and not a site to benifit the world cup bid.

Corné, bite me.
Over & out!

Grant, you seem to yet again miss the point, you think that being educated has anything to do with intellect?

I can teach a parrot to spew as much shit as you and sound more believable.

Education != intellect.

and your childishness is showing through.

You lost the minute you showed your true class.

You and hundreds of your kind like to come here and mouth off about how white South africans are this and that and as Corne said, you offer fuckall yourself.

The mere fact that you come to SA to work here, yes work, because I dont believe you are building your own business, is clear as day showing how inferior you are at home so you think you can come to a country like SA and act like a big fish in a little pond. What’s the matter? couldn’t cut it at home? so you come here to do what?

Its also not very surprising to see how you avoided every single argument I had for you, from my municipal involvement to how you yourself are badly flawed, instead you try to stir a fight by flinging childish insults? Thats very noble.

The mere fact that you harped on about the applause thing also truly shows how, much like a kid, you tried to set me up so that you can execute that whole “yo mamma so fat” routine that you tried, unsuccessfully to pull off using the clap thing.

When I didn’t resort to your tactics, or even respond to it, you went ahead and executed it anyway. Bloody marvelous. except that I didn’t ask for the applause. So it didn’t really work on me.

You are most certainly seeking applause for your truly awesome debating skills which employ schoolyard tactics which may have worked back in the UK but won’t work here. Sorry mate.

We could continue this at your level, but I just don’t have the list of insult websites that you seem to have bookmarked.

Rush, stop writing. You are starting to embarass the rest of us now.

barry, the only reason youre responding in favour of Grant is because Grant is your friend, you forget that you emailed me mentioning this?

But if thats your stance then clearly birds of a feather and all that.

I’m not even sure where the bone of contention lies any more, but I’m embarassed that a foreign guy is more willing than we are to put the muscle into our own project. if you wanna go at my character for it, do what suits you, but I see the truth in what he says. Besides, i’ve been reading objectively and you’re still coming off 2nd best to Grant, especially in a battle of wits.
I think I gave you too much credit, dude. No wonder you were stuffed around by your older employer.

you call petty mud flinging a battle of wits?

Thats hardly worth even addressing.

While Grant is right in a few aspects that I really can’t disagree on, I do sincerely hope. no. I PRAY that South Africa pull the world cup off.

But my gut feel with my own personal experiences when dealing with the current government is that very little has been done thus far logistically.

How on earth can we expect a successful world cup when our infrastructure is shot to shit?

These are just some of the things that we need that are currently in a bad state:

Crowd Control
Safety & Security
Public Transport
Broadband

Can you Barry, or Grant, can you justify and promise any visitor a level of security in a country where tourists get murdered for their wristwatches?
Can you promise them decent public transport?

There are so many areas which are currently falling behind every day which cannot be rectified without a lot of expenditure and outside help, thus negating the entire idea of a world cup to start with.

And alot of these problems can be attributed to a level of myopia.

You forget that we live in a country where the former deputy president was accused of raping an HIV positive aids activist then tried to shrug off the irresponsibility of his actions by saying that he took a shower?

You also forgetting that the same person also has much to answer for in that arms deal fiasco, not to mention his ties with Shabir Shaik?

We live in a country where people buy drivers licences as though they were buying a newspaper.

Even Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula admitted to newspapers saying “We know there are corrupt officials”

And that is the crux of the problem, the fact that there are way too many high ranking officials who in their corruption will only look to exploit the project for their own personal gain. Much to the dismay of myself and every single person who lives in this country. You think I don’t want the world cup to happen? I do. more than you can ever imagine.

The only thing I am saying is that should it not happen because of all the above mentioned nagatives then I will be more than just a bit embarassed.

I’m rooting for it all the way. I’m just hoping that the problems get sorted out before its too late.

i think being positive and determined to make our country a shining success is pretty important. every country has these problems, but we’ve proven that we have a unique ability to turn really bad things into magnificent magic. that sets us apart from the rest.
It’s been exciting to watch you guys wrestle away. Thanks for the colourful display of passion. you should both go into politics because sa can use passionate integrity.

haha, no thanks!

I might become corrupt myself O_o

Being positive is one thing, and trying to make our own initiative work is also another, but the true reallity is that when this world cup fails, the impact on tourism in this country will have a major affect. But merely making people aware what is really going on in this country will make them prepared for what is lying ahead. Grant and Barry is launching a personal attack on rush, and if I’m not mistaken, Grant started launching the first insult on this site,
“TYPICAL MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN WHINEY-ASS BULLSHIT.”and when he received it ten folds back, he did not like it. But he shows tipical school debate disorder – wondering off the topic.
My impression of this site is to allow people the opportunity to give their oppinions of the world cup, and rush can correct me if I’m wrong.
And if you are talking about turning a really bad things into magic, you should rather take a look at the USA after 9/11. They are working to get the bad out of society, not praise all the wrong, and I do agree that every body has these problems, but in SA it gets blamed on the white apartheid earea which is gone long time ago. You tell me Grant, and stop slinging mud for a change, and lets see if you can really answer a true question for a change: Why is crime on the rise in SA and why do more whites become a target? Why is my children not allowed to have a fair opportunity in the work place, they where not even born in the apartheid era?

But I agree with Rush, I’ve been involved at one of the biggest Metros in SA for the last 3 years sorting out their commercial data validations and their business process models, and if you talk about inafficient, you should go there. But the problem is that everybody blames their own incompetance on somebody else, and not what I can do to enhance myself and be more productive. In SA the mentality is that it is my right, to be here, not a privilage to do something for my country. If everybody stop riding the gravy train and do something to clamp down and crime and reallity, al lot have our problems will disappear. That is what we are doing on this site, not sling mud at individuals because once again we blame it on “TYPICAL MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN WHINEY-ASS BULLSHIT.”

if you have a look at the history of countries like angola and mozambique, you will see that after the whites left, the countries had a major breakdown in infrastructure which set them back quite a number of years.

Angola for example, had no running water in it’s capital, Luanda for many years, toilets wouldnt flush and more.

It was only after external help was brought in and paid for using the countries diamond and oil resources were things to settle back into something of a normal infrastructure. Which was screwed for more than 30 years anyway.

While the same decline has started here in SA, the only reason it hasn’t broken down completely, is because there are still people here who with not having any to go are forced to sit it out and make things work.

and I am referring mostly to the white engineers, etc

the types of breakdowns we are currently seeing include

Electricity (Cape Town blackouts, Johannesburg north blackouts)
Water (the recent water problems)
Safety and security (escaping prisoners who cant be held for more than a few hours before they escape)
Legal System – loss of papers and evidence end up with prisoners being let free because they cant find case documents (no wonder when the system has no system)
potholes left unfixed for months
unfinished roadworks
municipal collections not being orchestrated on a proper schedule
even data

I spent a day at the courts trying to recover court documents earlier this year that were supposed to be recdoverable by a quick search on the court’s databases. However they had a database corruption and lost all the information. When I asked if they had any plans to fix the problems, the only answer I got was that there was no current plan to fix it.

Now I ask you, how can a country operate when its court systems aren’t even backing up important data???

These are just some of the problems that South Africa faces.

It’s these breakdowns in infrastructure that will make the 2010 almost impossible to pull off.

again I need to stress that if it is to happen, South Africa will need to realise that perhaps some of the people in their current positions are not the best people for the jobs and that a reshuffle is needed in order to succeed.

Despite all of these problems, I am still hoping for the best.

Rush:

I agree with your concerns criticizing some of South Africa’s bureaucratic breakdown, especially in governmental services. However, people living in South Africa seem to believe that they are the only country in the world suffereing from these inefficiencies. Athough maybe not to the same degree, but governmental innefficiencies exist everywhere!! South Africans do not realize, however, that some of their systems would actually put many ‘first world’ systems to shame.

It is really a good thing that some of the people who, as you say, have no where to go, but stay behind and ‘not allow’ thing to totally go down the drain. As a frequent visitor to South Africa I can assure you that many remaining behind are in fact changing with the times and are a lot happier with the way the country has turned out than 10 to 12 years ago, when everything still seemed so uncertain. A lot of South African still held very racist view back then whereas today their views are much more moderate, especially if they remained behind to withness and ‘grow with’ the cultural changes first. You only have to look the last time a Protea team toured Australia to realize that many racist South Africans who did not have the ‘benefit’ of living with the changes are actually the ones who ‘lost out’ on the outlook altering cultural revolution since apartheid ended. Those former South Africans, now an embarrasment to Australia, stagnated in their views of old South Africa.

All I say to anyone tending towards negativety in their postings is one word: ‘perspective’. Everyone has their own. Certainly all the members of FIFA have theirs too. However, they have their ‘fingers to the organizational pulse’ a lot more than an of us posters at forums like these.

Fifa World Cup is perhaps 10 times bigger than any tournament or event ever held in RSA, but given South Africa’s organizational track record, and this time with monumental assistance of Fifa, my pre tournament prediction is opposite that of yours. Whilst you hope for the best I am expecting it.

Hi there – Happy New Year to whomever’s reading this. I wish you and your country (expat or bona fide safrican) success, fortune and lasting joy.
Here’s to a positive attitude for 2010.

those r some pretty awesome ideas..i like the first one

If SA is sooooo coooool and you all think we (whites can stand up and have our say), then tell me , why have 1 million whites left this place in the last 10 years? MMMmmmm 1 million reasons will make all your comments loof fcuken pathetic.
Just read this:- http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/business/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&lvl2=buss&ArticleID=1518-1786_2113599
Now what do you have to say! None of you can see the cancer within. Shame, all the white womens hard work in this country for nothing??
Hey, people who think we can stand up, do something and contribute, please advise us on how to stop the communist ANC from changing all the street/buildings/parks names etc…. See we have NO!!!!!!!!! fcuken say and will be trampled on for the next 100 years.

Pyatte,

Go find some peace, in your pain and hate filled heart girl!! Spewing poison will never improve the situation. Perhaps if you hold off on the foul language people might take your postings more seriously.

Ek sal antwoord op jou roepstem, ek sal offer wat jy vra. Ek sal lewe, ek sal sterwe. Ek vir jou, Suid-Africa.

Suid-Afrika is my land. Alhoewel PW en FW dit oorgegee het aan die swartes, sal dit my moeder grond bly. Die wiel gaan weer draai. Sodra die marmite regering klaar KAK aangevang het met ons land, gaan hulle in die witman se oë kom kyk vir hulp.

Hulle sal besef dat hulle Nelson Mandela after party tot ‘n einde gekom het en dat hulle die land in die sloot in gedryf het. DAN SAL DIE VIERKLEUR WEER WAPPER.

Daar is en was nog altud net een ras in Suid-Afrika wat gebore is om te regeer. En dit is die Afrikaner.

En asseblief, ek is nie ‘n vlaksinnige poephol wat links en regs Kaffer Kaffer nie. Ek is ‘n hoopvolle boerseun wat sal sterf vir SY land. En as dit gaan wees in ‘n bantoe-boere burgeroorlog. Dan sal ek trots wees.

Lank lewe Suid-Afrika

What a joke the 2010 soccer world cup is going to be. Teams are gonna play in the dark because there wont be enough electricity. Fans will not be able to get to the stadiums on time because of traffic lights being out of order. And many tourists will be raped, burgled, and murdered.

Welcome to the crime capital of the world!!!!!!!