Want to start a debate among South Africans? Get several of them together and ask what positive developments are likely to spring from the country's preparations to host the 2010 World Cup? Inevitably you’ll get someone passionately telling you that it is nothing more than an ill-fated jingoistic boondoggle while someone else argues as ardently that the World Cup will propel South Africa into the first rank of nations, and you’ll hear all opinions between these two poles.
It does appear that preparations for the World Cup have forced South Africa to upgrade significantly an antiquated transportation infrastructure that, in the words of this Mail & Guardian story, is “still plodding on routes designed by the apartheid regime to keep people apart.” According to Transport Minister Jeff Radebe, “The development of our transport infrastructure will undoubtedly be one of the shining legacies of the World Cup.” It remains to be seen if the real outcome achieves the idealized one, but at least the desires of those involved in the planning represent a long-range vision for South Africa.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
