Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
More straight talk from Chris Christie – The day of reckoning is here
Posted by therightscoop in Politics on Jun 15th, 2010 | 0 Comments
Dude, this guy needs no explanation because he does it so well himself. I’ll be honest, I can’t get enough of Christie. I need this guy to be president right freaking now!!!! It’s painful to hear such great words coming from such a great man, and then to think about the dictator we have in office now. UGH!
Enjoy the Great Communicator 2.0:
http://www.therightscoop.com/
Monday, June 14, 2010
Allen West on the Mangru Report
On a slow news day, you can’t go wrong with more Allen West. Nothing major here, but I’d say this guy is ready to run for President. Can’t wait for the day he decides to do that:
http://www.therightscoop.com/allen-west-on-the-mangru-report
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Obama on the spill: “I can’t suck it up with a straw”
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/06/11/obama-on-the-spill-i-cant-suck-it-up-with-a-straw/
Via WaPo, a week that began with a stupid soundbite ends with an even stupider one. Skip ahead to 3:00 for presidential oratorical glory. This really is the new meme among his supporters, believe it or not, per the fact that the video below comes from the White House itself: Not only shouldn’t our global messiah be expected to plug the damn hole — he’s not Superman, people! — but evidently he shouldn’t be expected to find out if there’s any containment boom sitting in a warehouse somewhere waiting to be used either. What he’s supposed to do, apparently, is go around reminding people why he’s really not to blame. I’ll say this for him: He’s awfully good at that, at least.
The latest upgraded estimate: As much as 2.1 million gallons of oil could be leaking each day for a possible grand total thus far of 100 million gallons in the gulf. Exxon Valdez was 11 million gallons; the worst spill in history, the Ixtoc rig in Mexico, was 140 million (over 10 months). Three more weeks and we’re there.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Morning Bell: How the White House is Making Oil Recovery Harder
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/06/10/morning-bell-how-the-white-house-is-making-oil-recovery-harder/
Posted June 10th, 2010
Five weeks ago Escambia County officials requested permission from the Mobile Unified Command Center to use a sand skimmer, a device pulled behind a tractor that removes oil and tar from the top three feet of sand, to help clean up Pensacola’s beaches. County officials still haven’t heard anything back. Santa Rosa Island Authority Buck Lee told The Daily Caller why: “Escambia County sends a request to the Mobile, Ala., Unified Command Center. Then, it’s reviewed by BP, the federal government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard. If they don’t like it, they don’t tell us anything.”
Keeping local governments in the dark is just one reason why the frustration of residents in the Gulf is so palpable. State and local governments know their geography, people, economic impacts and needs far better than the federal government does. Contrary to popular belief, the federal government has actually been playing a bigger and bigger role in running natural disaster responses. And as Heritage fellow Matt Mayer has documented, the results have gotten worse, not better.
And when the federal government isn’t sapping the initiative and expertise of local governments, it has been preventing foreign governments from helping. Just three days after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the Dutch government offered to provide ships outfitted with oil-skimming booms and proposed a plan for building sand barriers to protect sensitive marshlands. LA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) supported the idea, but the Obama administration refused the help. All told, thirteen countries have offered to help us clean up the Gulf, and the Obama administration has turned them all down.
According to one Dutch newspaper, European firms could complete the oil spill clean up by themselves in just four months, and three months if they work with the United States, which is much faster than the estimated nine months it would take the Obama administration to go it alone. The major stumbling block is a protectionist piece of legislation called the Jones Act which requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens. But in an emergency this law can be temporarily waived as DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff did after Katrina. Each day our European allies are prevented from helping us speed up the clean up is another day that Gulf fishing and tourism jobs die.
And then there are the energy jobs that the Obama administration is killing with its over-expansive ban on offshore energy development. Experts–who were consulted by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar before he issued his May 27 report recommending a six-month moratorium on all ongoing drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet–now tell The New Orleans Times-Picayune that they only supported a six-month ban on new drilling in waters deeper than 1,000 feet. A letter from the experts protesting the use of their names to support a ban they actually oppose reads: “A blanket moratorium is not the answer. It will not measurably reduce risk further and it will have a lasting impact on the nation’s economy which may be greater than that of the oil spill. We do not believe punishing the innocent is the right thing to do.”
And just how many innocent jobs is Obama’s oil ban killing? An earlier Times-Picayune report estimated the moratorium could cost Louisiana $2.97 billion in revenue and 7,590 jobs directly related to the oil industry. President Obama still has the power to save many of the jobs. He could reverse his decision and lift the ban. But political considerations make that impossible. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the President was the largest single recipient of campaign contributions from BP and its employees over the past twenty years. Therefore, the President has to put distance between himself and BP, which may be why President Obama has not spoken with BP CEO Tony Hayward one single time since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April. The problem is, vilifying BP’s corporate leadership does nothing to stop the spill or quicken the cleanup.
After the Obama administration refused help from the Netherlands, Geert Visser, the consul general for the Netherlands in Houston, told Loren Steffy: “Let’s forget about politics; let’s get it done.” It’s sound advice, Mr. President. Let’s free local governments to clean up their shores, waive protectionist laws that keep out foreign help, and let the oil workers who can safely do so get back to work. Let’s get it done.
Quick Hits:
•The Democratic Party will launch a national cable television ad campaign today daring Republicans to repeal health care.
•A new report by the Troubled Asset Relief Program’s Congressional Oversight Panel blasts the Federal Reserve and the Treasury for creating the too-big-to-fail problem by bailing out AIG.
•Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified yesterday that Congress must prepare to address an “unsustainable” level of debt in the federal budget.
•As part of their stepped up campaign of assassinations, the Taliban executed a seven-year-old boy in southern Afghanistan after accusing him of spying for the government.
•President Obama urged the Israeli government to loosen its blockade of Gaza and promised a $400 million aid package for the West Bank and Gaza.
Posted June 10th, 2010
Five weeks ago Escambia County officials requested permission from the Mobile Unified Command Center to use a sand skimmer, a device pulled behind a tractor that removes oil and tar from the top three feet of sand, to help clean up Pensacola’s beaches. County officials still haven’t heard anything back. Santa Rosa Island Authority Buck Lee told The Daily Caller why: “Escambia County sends a request to the Mobile, Ala., Unified Command Center. Then, it’s reviewed by BP, the federal government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard. If they don’t like it, they don’t tell us anything.”
Keeping local governments in the dark is just one reason why the frustration of residents in the Gulf is so palpable. State and local governments know their geography, people, economic impacts and needs far better than the federal government does. Contrary to popular belief, the federal government has actually been playing a bigger and bigger role in running natural disaster responses. And as Heritage fellow Matt Mayer has documented, the results have gotten worse, not better.
And when the federal government isn’t sapping the initiative and expertise of local governments, it has been preventing foreign governments from helping. Just three days after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the Dutch government offered to provide ships outfitted with oil-skimming booms and proposed a plan for building sand barriers to protect sensitive marshlands. LA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) supported the idea, but the Obama administration refused the help. All told, thirteen countries have offered to help us clean up the Gulf, and the Obama administration has turned them all down.
According to one Dutch newspaper, European firms could complete the oil spill clean up by themselves in just four months, and three months if they work with the United States, which is much faster than the estimated nine months it would take the Obama administration to go it alone. The major stumbling block is a protectionist piece of legislation called the Jones Act which requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens. But in an emergency this law can be temporarily waived as DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff did after Katrina. Each day our European allies are prevented from helping us speed up the clean up is another day that Gulf fishing and tourism jobs die.
And then there are the energy jobs that the Obama administration is killing with its over-expansive ban on offshore energy development. Experts–who were consulted by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar before he issued his May 27 report recommending a six-month moratorium on all ongoing drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet–now tell The New Orleans Times-Picayune that they only supported a six-month ban on new drilling in waters deeper than 1,000 feet. A letter from the experts protesting the use of their names to support a ban they actually oppose reads: “A blanket moratorium is not the answer. It will not measurably reduce risk further and it will have a lasting impact on the nation’s economy which may be greater than that of the oil spill. We do not believe punishing the innocent is the right thing to do.”
And just how many innocent jobs is Obama’s oil ban killing? An earlier Times-Picayune report estimated the moratorium could cost Louisiana $2.97 billion in revenue and 7,590 jobs directly related to the oil industry. President Obama still has the power to save many of the jobs. He could reverse his decision and lift the ban. But political considerations make that impossible. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the President was the largest single recipient of campaign contributions from BP and its employees over the past twenty years. Therefore, the President has to put distance between himself and BP, which may be why President Obama has not spoken with BP CEO Tony Hayward one single time since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April. The problem is, vilifying BP’s corporate leadership does nothing to stop the spill or quicken the cleanup.
After the Obama administration refused help from the Netherlands, Geert Visser, the consul general for the Netherlands in Houston, told Loren Steffy: “Let’s forget about politics; let’s get it done.” It’s sound advice, Mr. President. Let’s free local governments to clean up their shores, waive protectionist laws that keep out foreign help, and let the oil workers who can safely do so get back to work. Let’s get it done.
Quick Hits:
•The Democratic Party will launch a national cable television ad campaign today daring Republicans to repeal health care.
•A new report by the Troubled Asset Relief Program’s Congressional Oversight Panel blasts the Federal Reserve and the Treasury for creating the too-big-to-fail problem by bailing out AIG.
•Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified yesterday that Congress must prepare to address an “unsustainable” level of debt in the federal budget.
•As part of their stepped up campaign of assassinations, the Taliban executed a seven-year-old boy in southern Afghanistan after accusing him of spying for the government.
•President Obama urged the Israeli government to loosen its blockade of Gaza and promised a $400 million aid package for the West Bank and Gaza.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
As World Cup Opens, South Africa's Poor Complain of Neglect
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703957604575272622631938324.html?mod=djemITP_h
Krisanne Johnson for The Wall Street Journal
Mr. Zuma spoke to members of the press after giving a speech at Siyathemba Stadium in Balfour, South Africa, on the improvements he plans for the area
======================================================================
Isn't this the way it always goes--If not certain, research the Fall of the Roman Empire.
You are a politician. The money you have is contributed to you, like "Protection" money, and it is called "Campaign Donations".
You want a lot of people to vote for yyou, so you promise them material things--Housing, Transportation, cash (Supposedly for necessary things like food.
Where you going to get the funds to do all that?
Every time--Let's tax the rich."
When the rich see what is coming, they shut down and/or leave.
Most poloiticians and dictators then find a bad guy to point a finger at, like Jews or Rich People
======================================================================
AFRICA NEWSJUNE 8, 2010
Soweto Turns Anger on ANC
As World Cup Opens, South Africa's Poor Complain of Neglect
By PETER WONACOTT
SOWETO, South Africa—In 1994, the township of Soweto helped midwife a new nation, toppling a white racist regime after years of protests and electing Nelson Mandela as South Africa's first black president.
Today, Soweto is home to upscale shopping malls, tidy row houses and a state-of-the-art sports stadium that will host Friday's opening of the World Cup. As barriers to government and jobs have fallen and foreign investment has picked up, a black middle class has emerged, a cornerstone of the new South Africa that will be showcased during the month-long soccer tournament.
But prosperity has spread only so far. And 16 years after the end of white minority rule, many here now complain of oppression of a different sort: government neglect.
This time, the sing-song marches, angry slogans and burning tires are most often directed at the African National Congress, the ruling party of Mr. Mandela and South Africa's current president, Jacob Zuma.
Undulating over Soweto's hills in southern Johannesburg are oceans of corrugated metal shacks. In these settlements, roads are dirt, toilets are outdoors and electricity is pilfered from traffic lights. Incensed citizen groups have protested the lack of public services, turning Soweto and other townships into hotbeds of unrest once again.
"At least under apartheid, there was employment—people knew where to go for jobs," says Maureen Mnisi, a spokeswoman for the Landless People's Movement in Soweto, a group that is fighting for housing and land for the poor. "Officials were accountable."
The protests highlight a widening rift between the ANC and the black poor it professes to represent. They are part of a broader picture of disarray cascading down from the top of South Africa's ruling party, as it grapples with infighting and the personal troubles of its polygamous president.
"I'm not concerned that the country is in crisis," says Steven Friedman, director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at University of Johannesburg. "I have no doubt that the ANC is in crisis."
As the World Cup approaches, the nation shows little sign of splitting apart along racial lines. South African flags flying from cars and the diverse following for the national soccer team are public displays of widespread patriotism. For many, the fan frenzy is a reminder of how South Africa's 1995 rugby world championship—made famous by the Clint Eastwood movie "Invictus"—broke down barriers between blacks and whites.
"It is clear that millions of our people have waited for years and look upon this tournament with hope, pride and a sense of belonging," President Zuma told a press conference Sunday. "Sport has always played an important role in our historical mission to build a united, non-racial and prosperous South Africa."
But also ahead of the World Cup, South Africa has become an increasingly fractious place. Although race remains a source of tension, economic concerns have stoked many of the protests.
Last month, the nation endured a debilitating three-week transport strike before the state-owned ports and rail operator settled on a hefty wage increase for workers. Cosatu, an umbrella group of trade unions and a powerful ANC ally, has warned of possible labor strikes during the World Cup, if authorities do not reverse double-digit electricity price increases. Last week, several thousand hospital workers walked off their jobs over pay issues.
Meanwhile, a hodgepodge of social activist groups have threatened marches during the World Cup. The South African Institute of Race Relations, a think tank in Johannesburg, estimates that 25 "major centers of protest" have surfaced this year, nearly all in black townships. The World Cup has galvanized protesters, largely because of the leverage they have over a state anxious to host a trouble-free event, according to Frans Cronje, deputy chief executive of the institute.
"It's a useful moment to protest because the stakes are so much higher for the government," he says.
President Zuma didn't respond to interview requests.
The stakes are also high for the party behind the government. The ruling ANC continues to hold the vast majority of seats in parliament, but it's come under pressure from a vocal opposition and a freewheeling local media. Like liberation parties in other countries, such as the Indian National Congress of India, the ANC has struggled to show it can deliver political freedoms as well as a better standard of living for the poor.
Nearly a century old, the ANC was founded to unite Africans in the quest for human rights. In the 1950s, the organization gained a mass following with campaigns that defied South Africa's laws of racial segregation, a system known as apartheid. In the 1960s, the ANC took up arms against the government. Many ANC leaders, including Mr. Mandela, ended up in jail.
It wasn't until 1990 that the government of South Africa—under pressure from township protests and economic sanctions from foreign countries—lifted a ban on the party. Mr. Mandela and others were released from prison and, in elections four years later, catapulted into power. Since then, the ANC has focused on racial reconciliation with whites and extending new opportunities for blacks through affirmative action policies.
The affable Mr. Zuma, the son of a domestic worker, became president last year by winning the top post at the ANC. Neither charges of corruption, linked to a government arms deal, nor a rape trial derailed his path to power. (The corruption charges were dropped and Mr. Zuma was acquitted of rape).
But personal troubles have become a part of his presidency. Earlier this year, the president admitted to fathering a 20th child with a woman who wasn't one of his three wives or one fiancée. The affair sparked an outcry, even in a country where polygamy is legal. Mr. Zuma apologized to his supporters and paid damages to the family of the woman, whose father, Irvin Khoza, is the chairman of South Africa's World Cup Organizing Committee.
Mr. Zuma's troubles aren't only personal.
ANC leaders have feuded with Cosatu, a government ally, over allegations the leader of the trade union group made about government corruption. Meanwhile, the head of the powerful ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, was threatened with suspension and ordered to attend anger management classes for lashing out at Mr. Zuma, among other offenses. Some officials and analysts see the political battles as the opening salvos within the ANC to succeed Mr. Zuma, after his term as party head expires in 2012.
Beyond the infighting, Mr. Zuma confronts major economic challenges. Despite South Africa surfacing from recession this year, and a binge of World Cup infrastructure spending, the overall job picture hasn't improved. Unemployment hovers at around 25%.
While Mr. Zuma assumed the presidency with a reputation as an economic populist, he has steered clear of steps that would frighten foreign investors. For example, the president and his ministers have reassured global miners that nationalization isn't official policy, even as he has tried to appease the party left by allowing debate on the subject.
Still, foreign investors worry about political stability, violent crime and the huge uneducated black underclass giving rise to both. Business executives wonder how long Mr. Zuma will be in the job after appearing to lose political capital with his personal peccadillos and failure to staunch party infighting sooner.
Some experts argue that the protests in townships are indeed a wakeup call for a government that has ignored its black underclass at its own peril. "We were never a rainbow nation, never a miracle," says Sipho Seepe, a director at the South African Institute of Race Relations. "We created a myth of success without the hard work."
The makeshift settlements of Soweto show how much hard work is left to do.
On a recent Friday in Elias Motsoaledi Village, protesters sang and danced to anti-apartheid songs, but these days the goal of their struggle is reliable electricity and decent housing.
The mud-puddle pocked village is about five miles from South Africa's flagship stadium, the more-than $400 million Soccer City, which will host the opening World Cup match between South Africa and Mexico. Motsoaledi residents say they are angry that funds have passed over them for the soccer stadium. One cardboard sign says: "We vote 4 basic services not for the World Cup."
The protests are led by Lucky Ngobeni, chairman of the Concerned Residents of Elias Motsoaledi Village. Mr. Ngobeni voted for Mr. Mandela. But now, he's protesting a successor who he accuses of ignoring people like him.
"Zuma pretends he doesn't know what's happening here. He knows," says the 33-year old part-time security guard.
Mr. Ngobeni, who prefers to be called Comrade Lucky, has been plunked by rubber bullets and arrested several times, but continues to court confrontation. He says that burning tires and smashing windows attracts crowds and police, which in turn draw media attention and politicians who normally would avoid him.
"We can wait six months for a meeting" with a top city official, says Mr. Ngobeni, striding along the open sewage canals of Motsoaledi. "Burn a police car and he'll be here in an hour."
In an email, the Gauteng Provincial Government Department of Local Government and Housing says that feasibility studies for housing and sewage projects in the settlement have been approved and are awaiting contractors. The department didn't respond to questions about protests.
The militant edge to the protests is matched by the fiery rhetoric among Soweto residents. At a recent meeting of the Concerned Residents of Soweto, an umbrella organization of different groups of the township, the talk was of how the ANC has forgotten those who supported them in the apartheid years and brought them into power.
Some issue angry threats. "We are going to struggle against Zuma and his coterie until he runs out of this country," declared Thandi Bamalekane, to the applause of the others.
But the mood is somber when discussion turns to how electricity prices are rising out of reach for ordinary residents and possible plans to charge people for drinking water. A change of government hasn't lifted living standards for those living in the settlements, according to Ben Tau, one of the members of the Concerned Residents of Soweto.
"We were victims of apartheid. We are victims of democracy now," he says. "It's only the name that's changed."
President Zuma announced recently that he's reconfiguring the government to speed up delivery of services to the poor. He has also paid visits to troubled townships to inspect recent work and defuse tensions among residents.
One of them is Siyathemba Township, a mining area in the country's east. After recent public service protests, Mr. Zuma promised to report back on government progress resolving the problems. On a Saturday afternoon last month, the president returned to speak to an audience under a green banner, "Changing the Way Government Works."
Mr. Zuma received an earful from locals. Signs in the crowd criticized a decision to place the township under the administration of another province that's viewed as poorly administered. Clinics, schools and police were considered too few and far between. Some jeered his ministers who spoke before him.
"Put down your placards," the president urged the crowd when he reached podium. "I have seen them."
Mr. Zuma reminded the crowd that he grew up poor and understood their grievances. He promised the government was working on plans to improve public services. He concluded by singing a popular anti-apartheid song, "Bring Me My Machine Gun." The crowd cheered and danced along with him.
After walking off the stage, the South African president told a small group of reporters that people needed to be more patient. "We must not be agitated," he said. "We must leave the matters to us, the government."
Write to Peter Wonacott at peter.wonacott@wsj.com
Krisanne Johnson for The Wall Street Journal
Mr. Zuma spoke to members of the press after giving a speech at Siyathemba Stadium in Balfour, South Africa, on the improvements he plans for the area
======================================================================
Isn't this the way it always goes--If not certain, research the Fall of the Roman Empire.
You are a politician. The money you have is contributed to you, like "Protection" money, and it is called "Campaign Donations".
You want a lot of people to vote for yyou, so you promise them material things--Housing, Transportation, cash (Supposedly for necessary things like food.
Where you going to get the funds to do all that?
Every time--Let's tax the rich."
When the rich see what is coming, they shut down and/or leave.
Most poloiticians and dictators then find a bad guy to point a finger at, like Jews or Rich People
======================================================================
AFRICA NEWSJUNE 8, 2010
Soweto Turns Anger on ANC
As World Cup Opens, South Africa's Poor Complain of Neglect
By PETER WONACOTT
SOWETO, South Africa—In 1994, the township of Soweto helped midwife a new nation, toppling a white racist regime after years of protests and electing Nelson Mandela as South Africa's first black president.
Today, Soweto is home to upscale shopping malls, tidy row houses and a state-of-the-art sports stadium that will host Friday's opening of the World Cup. As barriers to government and jobs have fallen and foreign investment has picked up, a black middle class has emerged, a cornerstone of the new South Africa that will be showcased during the month-long soccer tournament.
But prosperity has spread only so far. And 16 years after the end of white minority rule, many here now complain of oppression of a different sort: government neglect.
This time, the sing-song marches, angry slogans and burning tires are most often directed at the African National Congress, the ruling party of Mr. Mandela and South Africa's current president, Jacob Zuma.
Undulating over Soweto's hills in southern Johannesburg are oceans of corrugated metal shacks. In these settlements, roads are dirt, toilets are outdoors and electricity is pilfered from traffic lights. Incensed citizen groups have protested the lack of public services, turning Soweto and other townships into hotbeds of unrest once again.
"At least under apartheid, there was employment—people knew where to go for jobs," says Maureen Mnisi, a spokeswoman for the Landless People's Movement in Soweto, a group that is fighting for housing and land for the poor. "Officials were accountable."
The protests highlight a widening rift between the ANC and the black poor it professes to represent. They are part of a broader picture of disarray cascading down from the top of South Africa's ruling party, as it grapples with infighting and the personal troubles of its polygamous president.
"I'm not concerned that the country is in crisis," says Steven Friedman, director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at University of Johannesburg. "I have no doubt that the ANC is in crisis."
As the World Cup approaches, the nation shows little sign of splitting apart along racial lines. South African flags flying from cars and the diverse following for the national soccer team are public displays of widespread patriotism. For many, the fan frenzy is a reminder of how South Africa's 1995 rugby world championship—made famous by the Clint Eastwood movie "Invictus"—broke down barriers between blacks and whites.
"It is clear that millions of our people have waited for years and look upon this tournament with hope, pride and a sense of belonging," President Zuma told a press conference Sunday. "Sport has always played an important role in our historical mission to build a united, non-racial and prosperous South Africa."
But also ahead of the World Cup, South Africa has become an increasingly fractious place. Although race remains a source of tension, economic concerns have stoked many of the protests.
Last month, the nation endured a debilitating three-week transport strike before the state-owned ports and rail operator settled on a hefty wage increase for workers. Cosatu, an umbrella group of trade unions and a powerful ANC ally, has warned of possible labor strikes during the World Cup, if authorities do not reverse double-digit electricity price increases. Last week, several thousand hospital workers walked off their jobs over pay issues.
Meanwhile, a hodgepodge of social activist groups have threatened marches during the World Cup. The South African Institute of Race Relations, a think tank in Johannesburg, estimates that 25 "major centers of protest" have surfaced this year, nearly all in black townships. The World Cup has galvanized protesters, largely because of the leverage they have over a state anxious to host a trouble-free event, according to Frans Cronje, deputy chief executive of the institute.
"It's a useful moment to protest because the stakes are so much higher for the government," he says.
President Zuma didn't respond to interview requests.
The stakes are also high for the party behind the government. The ruling ANC continues to hold the vast majority of seats in parliament, but it's come under pressure from a vocal opposition and a freewheeling local media. Like liberation parties in other countries, such as the Indian National Congress of India, the ANC has struggled to show it can deliver political freedoms as well as a better standard of living for the poor.
Nearly a century old, the ANC was founded to unite Africans in the quest for human rights. In the 1950s, the organization gained a mass following with campaigns that defied South Africa's laws of racial segregation, a system known as apartheid. In the 1960s, the ANC took up arms against the government. Many ANC leaders, including Mr. Mandela, ended up in jail.
It wasn't until 1990 that the government of South Africa—under pressure from township protests and economic sanctions from foreign countries—lifted a ban on the party. Mr. Mandela and others were released from prison and, in elections four years later, catapulted into power. Since then, the ANC has focused on racial reconciliation with whites and extending new opportunities for blacks through affirmative action policies.
The affable Mr. Zuma, the son of a domestic worker, became president last year by winning the top post at the ANC. Neither charges of corruption, linked to a government arms deal, nor a rape trial derailed his path to power. (The corruption charges were dropped and Mr. Zuma was acquitted of rape).
But personal troubles have become a part of his presidency. Earlier this year, the president admitted to fathering a 20th child with a woman who wasn't one of his three wives or one fiancée. The affair sparked an outcry, even in a country where polygamy is legal. Mr. Zuma apologized to his supporters and paid damages to the family of the woman, whose father, Irvin Khoza, is the chairman of South Africa's World Cup Organizing Committee.
Mr. Zuma's troubles aren't only personal.
ANC leaders have feuded with Cosatu, a government ally, over allegations the leader of the trade union group made about government corruption. Meanwhile, the head of the powerful ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, was threatened with suspension and ordered to attend anger management classes for lashing out at Mr. Zuma, among other offenses. Some officials and analysts see the political battles as the opening salvos within the ANC to succeed Mr. Zuma, after his term as party head expires in 2012.
Beyond the infighting, Mr. Zuma confronts major economic challenges. Despite South Africa surfacing from recession this year, and a binge of World Cup infrastructure spending, the overall job picture hasn't improved. Unemployment hovers at around 25%.
While Mr. Zuma assumed the presidency with a reputation as an economic populist, he has steered clear of steps that would frighten foreign investors. For example, the president and his ministers have reassured global miners that nationalization isn't official policy, even as he has tried to appease the party left by allowing debate on the subject.
Still, foreign investors worry about political stability, violent crime and the huge uneducated black underclass giving rise to both. Business executives wonder how long Mr. Zuma will be in the job after appearing to lose political capital with his personal peccadillos and failure to staunch party infighting sooner.
Some experts argue that the protests in townships are indeed a wakeup call for a government that has ignored its black underclass at its own peril. "We were never a rainbow nation, never a miracle," says Sipho Seepe, a director at the South African Institute of Race Relations. "We created a myth of success without the hard work."
The makeshift settlements of Soweto show how much hard work is left to do.
On a recent Friday in Elias Motsoaledi Village, protesters sang and danced to anti-apartheid songs, but these days the goal of their struggle is reliable electricity and decent housing.
The mud-puddle pocked village is about five miles from South Africa's flagship stadium, the more-than $400 million Soccer City, which will host the opening World Cup match between South Africa and Mexico. Motsoaledi residents say they are angry that funds have passed over them for the soccer stadium. One cardboard sign says: "We vote 4 basic services not for the World Cup."
The protests are led by Lucky Ngobeni, chairman of the Concerned Residents of Elias Motsoaledi Village. Mr. Ngobeni voted for Mr. Mandela. But now, he's protesting a successor who he accuses of ignoring people like him.
"Zuma pretends he doesn't know what's happening here. He knows," says the 33-year old part-time security guard.
Mr. Ngobeni, who prefers to be called Comrade Lucky, has been plunked by rubber bullets and arrested several times, but continues to court confrontation. He says that burning tires and smashing windows attracts crowds and police, which in turn draw media attention and politicians who normally would avoid him.
"We can wait six months for a meeting" with a top city official, says Mr. Ngobeni, striding along the open sewage canals of Motsoaledi. "Burn a police car and he'll be here in an hour."
In an email, the Gauteng Provincial Government Department of Local Government and Housing says that feasibility studies for housing and sewage projects in the settlement have been approved and are awaiting contractors. The department didn't respond to questions about protests.
The militant edge to the protests is matched by the fiery rhetoric among Soweto residents. At a recent meeting of the Concerned Residents of Soweto, an umbrella organization of different groups of the township, the talk was of how the ANC has forgotten those who supported them in the apartheid years and brought them into power.
Some issue angry threats. "We are going to struggle against Zuma and his coterie until he runs out of this country," declared Thandi Bamalekane, to the applause of the others.
But the mood is somber when discussion turns to how electricity prices are rising out of reach for ordinary residents and possible plans to charge people for drinking water. A change of government hasn't lifted living standards for those living in the settlements, according to Ben Tau, one of the members of the Concerned Residents of Soweto.
"We were victims of apartheid. We are victims of democracy now," he says. "It's only the name that's changed."
President Zuma announced recently that he's reconfiguring the government to speed up delivery of services to the poor. He has also paid visits to troubled townships to inspect recent work and defuse tensions among residents.
One of them is Siyathemba Township, a mining area in the country's east. After recent public service protests, Mr. Zuma promised to report back on government progress resolving the problems. On a Saturday afternoon last month, the president returned to speak to an audience under a green banner, "Changing the Way Government Works."
Mr. Zuma received an earful from locals. Signs in the crowd criticized a decision to place the township under the administration of another province that's viewed as poorly administered. Clinics, schools and police were considered too few and far between. Some jeered his ministers who spoke before him.
"Put down your placards," the president urged the crowd when he reached podium. "I have seen them."
Mr. Zuma reminded the crowd that he grew up poor and understood their grievances. He promised the government was working on plans to improve public services. He concluded by singing a popular anti-apartheid song, "Bring Me My Machine Gun." The crowd cheered and danced along with him.
After walking off the stage, the South African president told a small group of reporters that people needed to be more patient. "We must not be agitated," he said. "We must leave the matters to us, the government."
Write to Peter Wonacott at peter.wonacott@wsj.com
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Tea Party Member Stuns Crowd! ~A Must See Video
A Marine stood up and told Cain that people forget the other verses to the Star Spangle Banner...He then sang it in a beautiful, powerful and moving voice..people in the crowd realized what is happening and stood up with hands on their hearts.
O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause. it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2010/06/tea_party_member_stuns_crowd_a.html
SARAH Palin accuses Helen Thomas of "unconscionable indecency"
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2010/06/palin-accuses-helen-thomas-of-unconscionable-indecency.html
By guest blogger Sissy Willis
“Many in the European community feel as I do, but they are afraid to speak out publicly,” says Czech Senate President Dr. Přemysl Sobotka in solidarity with Israel, pariah of the politically-correct "international community" in the wake of the Turkish flotilla travesty. Aruta Sheva Israel National News reports [h/t JENin140 on Twitter]:
Is the world waking up? Following U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and others [President Obama stands tepidly behind Israel, presumably to secure leverage for his "peace" agenda, but "perpetuating Israel's enemies' version of events, according to Liz Cheney.] … Dr. Sobotka told Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin on Wednesday, “As a doctor, I certainly regret any loss of life, but there is no doubt that this was a planned provocation designed to drag Israel into a trap.”
Sobotka met with Rivlin in the Knesset, and told him, “I support the position that views Hamas as a terrorist organization … It is too bad that European countries present an unbalanced position on this matter. Unfortunately, the positions of the international community are not always to my taste, particularly in Europe.”
Rivlin took the opportunity to explain once again that “despite the international criticism, the naval blockade on Gaza is in accordance with international law. Israel left Gaza, but it became a terrorist entity supported by Iran. This week, instead of peace activists we found terror activists who endangered our soldiers and left them with no choice. At least 100 out of the 120 Knesset Members support the IDF action.”
Could it be that the Big Lie about Palestinians as victims is about to be "washed away by [a] preference cascade," where people wake up from a politically correct, fear-society nightmare to realize the political narrative being peddled by the powers that be is a con? Glenn Reynolds described the phenomenon awhile back:
Three years ago, I looked at the phenomenon of "preference cascades" — in which people who have been obliged to conceal their true beliefs by social pressure or sheer force suddenly discover that a lot of other people feel the same way — and wrote:
"This illustrates, in a mild way, the reason why totalitarian regimes collapse so suddenly … Such regimes have little legitimacy, but they spend a lot of effort making sure that citizens don't realize the extent to which their fellow-citizens dislike the regime. If the secret police and the censors are doing their job, 99% of the populace can hate the regime and be ready to revolt against it — but no revolt will occur because no one realizes that everyone else feels the same way … Even if one loathes the regime, few people have the force of will to stage one-man revolutions, and when preferences are sufficiently falsified, each dissident may feel that he or she is the only one, or at least part of a minority too small to make any difference."
Something similar is gathering steam in the anthropogenic-global-warming "debate," much to the horror, no doubt, of Obama Disinformation Czar Cass Sunstein, who apparently favors mandatory government propaganda on political websites. Could such an awakening be about to occur in the flotilla "debate" as the facts and YouTube videos emerge, or has the narrative been set? Don't ask Helen Thomas, whose advice for Israelis to "get the hell out of Palestines" and go back "home" to Poland or Germany went viral today, "immortalized on the web," prompting a cascade of outraged blogposts and tweets. Sarah Palin said it most succinctly on Twitter:
Helen, Helen, Helen … unimaginable misunderstanding of Jewish history … & unconscionable indecency. Press corps colleagues calling you on this?
And now the twitterers are having a field day with the hashtag #HelenThomasMovies. A few of our favorites:
Fatah Attraction ~ Michael_Haz
The Taming of the Jew ~ Jozette1972
When Helen Met Adolph ~ SissyWillis
Killing Private Ryan ~ Michael_Haz
Gone With the Windbag ~ sistertoljah
My Dinner with Adolph ~ DanRiehl
Update: Michelle Malkin's "Buzzworthy" links. Be sure to treat yourself to her take:
Helen Thomas Should Go Back to Mordor or the Star Wars Cantina and Get Out of Reporting
By guest blogger Sissy Willis
“Many in the European community feel as I do, but they are afraid to speak out publicly,” says Czech Senate President Dr. Přemysl Sobotka in solidarity with Israel, pariah of the politically-correct "international community" in the wake of the Turkish flotilla travesty. Aruta Sheva Israel National News reports [h/t JENin140 on Twitter]:
Is the world waking up? Following U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and others [President Obama stands tepidly behind Israel, presumably to secure leverage for his "peace" agenda, but "perpetuating Israel's enemies' version of events, according to Liz Cheney.] … Dr. Sobotka told Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin on Wednesday, “As a doctor, I certainly regret any loss of life, but there is no doubt that this was a planned provocation designed to drag Israel into a trap.”
Sobotka met with Rivlin in the Knesset, and told him, “I support the position that views Hamas as a terrorist organization … It is too bad that European countries present an unbalanced position on this matter. Unfortunately, the positions of the international community are not always to my taste, particularly in Europe.”
Rivlin took the opportunity to explain once again that “despite the international criticism, the naval blockade on Gaza is in accordance with international law. Israel left Gaza, but it became a terrorist entity supported by Iran. This week, instead of peace activists we found terror activists who endangered our soldiers and left them with no choice. At least 100 out of the 120 Knesset Members support the IDF action.”
Could it be that the Big Lie about Palestinians as victims is about to be "washed away by [a] preference cascade," where people wake up from a politically correct, fear-society nightmare to realize the political narrative being peddled by the powers that be is a con? Glenn Reynolds described the phenomenon awhile back:
Three years ago, I looked at the phenomenon of "preference cascades" — in which people who have been obliged to conceal their true beliefs by social pressure or sheer force suddenly discover that a lot of other people feel the same way — and wrote:
"This illustrates, in a mild way, the reason why totalitarian regimes collapse so suddenly … Such regimes have little legitimacy, but they spend a lot of effort making sure that citizens don't realize the extent to which their fellow-citizens dislike the regime. If the secret police and the censors are doing their job, 99% of the populace can hate the regime and be ready to revolt against it — but no revolt will occur because no one realizes that everyone else feels the same way … Even if one loathes the regime, few people have the force of will to stage one-man revolutions, and when preferences are sufficiently falsified, each dissident may feel that he or she is the only one, or at least part of a minority too small to make any difference."
Something similar is gathering steam in the anthropogenic-global-warming "debate," much to the horror, no doubt, of Obama Disinformation Czar Cass Sunstein, who apparently favors mandatory government propaganda on political websites. Could such an awakening be about to occur in the flotilla "debate" as the facts and YouTube videos emerge, or has the narrative been set? Don't ask Helen Thomas, whose advice for Israelis to "get the hell out of Palestines" and go back "home" to Poland or Germany went viral today, "immortalized on the web," prompting a cascade of outraged blogposts and tweets. Sarah Palin said it most succinctly on Twitter:
Helen, Helen, Helen … unimaginable misunderstanding of Jewish history … & unconscionable indecency. Press corps colleagues calling you on this?
And now the twitterers are having a field day with the hashtag #HelenThomasMovies. A few of our favorites:
Fatah Attraction ~ Michael_Haz
The Taming of the Jew ~ Jozette1972
When Helen Met Adolph ~ SissyWillis
Killing Private Ryan ~ Michael_Haz
Gone With the Windbag ~ sistertoljah
My Dinner with Adolph ~ DanRiehl
Update: Michelle Malkin's "Buzzworthy" links. Be sure to treat yourself to her take:
Helen Thomas Should Go Back to Mordor or the Star Wars Cantina and Get Out of Reporting
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)