Two examples from South Africa of people getting ahead of themselves:
Some South Africans, including Local Organizing Committee chair Irvin Khoza, fear that South Africans are not catching World Cup fever. This strikes me as a pretty groundless concern. I was in South Africa during the Confederations Cup and saw plenty of spirit and came to the conclusion that the country is going to do just fine as World Cup hosts. But what does Khoza want from South Africans at this stage, some ten months before the tournament opens? The typical South African can be both excited about the prospects of 2010 and can go on with their lives in the interim. The country is dealing with a recession, food prices have reached record highs, people have other things going on (including the just-completed track and field world championships and the ongoing successes of Springbok rugby) and probably see no need publicly to wave the flag for the World Cup. When Khoza says “Every street, every corner, you must feel it. You must feel that the show is in town” he may be right, but surely that feeling is necessary during the actual events, and not ten months prior. And as Derek Carstens, the LOC marketing manager points out, resources are finite and timing matters, and he plans to begin the real rollout for the event in December. This is a non-story from all I can tell.
Meanwhile, members of the ANC have begun calling for Jacob Zuma to become a two-term president of both his party and the country. While this is to be expected, is it not a bit early to be talking about a second five-year term for Zuma, who has yet to complete his fourth month as the country’s president?
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 […]
