South Africa P.I.G.: FIFA

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2010 World Cup debt trail

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintPEi2uHM9M8L-HXfce6r8O3rIw35ArZhZZ0Kz5UcHyufgwyh_JjgOV95jM0I1mHFiLYwDtLEqDfHShuoJnZ1hJsPlUG8bu_ePRr14Aeedm70zh-ud-u1qcLnrsqr4j3plolTdaeRH039/s1600/fick+fufa.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529529677274427810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintPEi2uHM9M8L-HXfce6r8O3rIw35ArZhZZ0Kz5UcHyufgwyh_JjgOV95jM0I1mHFiLYwDtLEqDfHShuoJnZ1hJsPlUG8bu_ePRr14Aeedm70zh-ud-u1qcLnrsqr4j3plolTdaeRH039/s400/fick+fufa.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 360px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> Feefa, codenamed "Operation Rob The Darkies Blind", also known as the World Cup, Blatter and his gang, with the help of its accomplices the SA government, made off with around $2-billion in profit, while its victims – the South African taxpayer – are around $1-billion poorer. South Africa spent about $4-billion, of which it may recoup about $2.7-billion. Either way, Fingers and his gang walked away with their two billion. In other words, the South African government was suckered into burning $1.3 billion it didn’t have. Meanwhile the government is adamant that hosting the World Cup was the right thing to do, despite half the country being unemployed and a third living in abject poverty. And yes, they could have used that R40-billion to build 700,000 RDP houses. Another classic case of the incompetance of the ruling party. When will they be bought to book? And what has happened to Danny Jordaan? Where is he now? Fifa's World Cup debt trail - <a href="http://www.fin24.com/">www.fin24.com</a> Fifa is facing a string of legal suits in South Africa for nearly R1bn in unpaid debts for services provided before and during the World Cup. The world soccer governing body has not paid about R240m for the buses that transported spectators and the security supplied by police after private security firms pulled out of the games over pay demands. Host cities are also threatening to sue for unpaid bills amounting to more than R500m for work Fifa allegedly demanded be done around stadiums. And last week, top executives from the SA Football Association (Safa) went cap in hand to Fifa's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, asking for about R60m used to buy hospitality packages. This comes three months after the end of Africa's first World Cup, which was held in June and July. Transport parastatal Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) entered into a R174m agreement with Fifa's Match Hospitality for the provision of buses to transport fans. Now Fifa faces a R148m lawsuit over the unpaid transport bill. According to Prasa, Fifa was expected to settle the bill by August 31, but has so far only paid R26m. Prasa spokesperson Nana Zenani said the entity "formally asserts that the matter is in the hands of its legal team". Zenani would not comment on the agency's next move. Prasa subsidiary, bus operator Autopax, acquired 570 new buses for R1.4bn for the World Cup. Fifa spokesperson Pekka Odriozola said they wouldn't comment on the transport bill and referred enquiries to Match. Match legal adviser Veruschka September confirmed that it contracted Prasa to deliver a complete bus transportation solution for the benefit of Match's clients during the World Cup. Financial trouble September said Prasa had filed a claim against Match, which it is disputing in a private arbitration forum. However, the police ministry has ruled out a legal challenge to force the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to settle the R90m bill for securing Ellis Park and Soccer City in Johannesburg, Cape Town's Green Point and Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. About 1 300 police officers, mainly trainees, were called to secure the stadiums after Stallion Security guards protested over low wages. "There are no intentions for legal pressure or litigation to settle the matter because we're confident it will be settled," said police ministry spokesperson Zweli Mnisi. Mnisi said the department's engagements with the LOC "were ongoing, open and mutual". Last month, police minister Nathi Mthethwa told Parliament the bill was sent to the LOC but police had used their own budget to pay officers. Meanwhile, Safa president Kirsten Nematandani and chief executive Leslie Sedibe travelled to Zurich last week to ask for reimbursement, arguing that the association would not ordinarily have spent the money had it not been for the World Cup. Nematandani said Safa bought the tickets under the impression that it would receive the profits of World Cup ticket sales. But Fifa and Safa have since agreed to open a trust account for the windfall that will be channelled towards development programmes. The move to ask Fifa to pay the R60m was seen as an indication that the association was in financial straits. But Nematandani denied this. "If we were broke, we would have closed shop a long time ago and would not have been able to send Bafana to Sierra Leone on a chartered flight and our national under-23 team to Iran," he said. He added that Fifa had agreed to give Safa the 37 sponsored buses that carried national teams to the games.

2010 World Cup debt trail

Feefa, codenamed "Operation Rob The Darkies Blind", also known as the World Cup, Blatter and his gang, with the help of its accomp...

2:08 PM

World Cup Votes For Sale

FIFA's "For the Good of the Game" and "whatever's in it for me" two senior committee members offered to sell their votes for cash. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSsFb_t17CNzS3adKZcfF7A0qXZEkmDxEUFLjO93AucF9yKmM-rtDaRgZrgNFNBAbi9VvYFCmW3eFQ4u3EWN38EEBrqEm_53BcuKqdu0O5otHQcluAonZstDOzwCVlsv60IbM8SzkjFcc/s1600/fifaSign.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529150509530564722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSsFb_t17CNzS3adKZcfF7A0qXZEkmDxEUFLjO93AucF9yKmM-rtDaRgZrgNFNBAbi9VvYFCmW3eFQ4u3EWN38EEBrqEm_53BcuKqdu0O5otHQcluAonZstDOzwCVlsv60IbM8SzkjFcc/s400/fifaSign.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 160px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>It is less than two months before Fifa executive committee members will vote in a secret ballot to decide who has won the right to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. But Fifa now finds itself investigating claims of World Cup vote corruption, after Sunday Times journalists filmed two members prepared to accept money in return for votes. But Amos Adamu (pictured below), one of the two men involved in the scandal, has denied any wrongdoing. Adamu told the Sunday Times he had been talking about business in Nigeria after the World Cup and said that his vote was not for sale. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WIlgEPmNnb73eiceS-idyXvKUhR_m4EQpwYAKcidw1DEqfeJ6FuBXjmypM2VwOs8Dr3U0BEZerDGEo6FdVOdkXGBa62UaFeMsw41LEp0BdLYBh3Yd-vT3xWuu0EkrMB2lxPP_La2UsxF/s1600/fifa-adamu.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529170100416663586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WIlgEPmNnb73eiceS-idyXvKUhR_m4EQpwYAKcidw1DEqfeJ6FuBXjmypM2VwOs8Dr3U0BEZerDGEo6FdVOdkXGBa62UaFeMsw41LEp0BdLYBh3Yd-vT3xWuu0EkrMB2lxPP_La2UsxF/s400/fifa-adamu.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The Fifa ethics committee will this week begin an investigation into a Sunday Times expose of two members of the 24-man Fifa executive committee, Amos Adamu from Nigeria and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti, who is the president of the Oceania Football Confederation. Posing as English-based lobbyists for an American consortium wanting to take the World Cup to the USA, they secured tape and film evidence of Adamu telling reporters in London that he wanted $800,000, to be paid to him personally, to build four football pitches in Nigeria. The deal was sealed last month in Cairo when Adamu gave his "guarantee" he would vote for the US in 2018. At the time it was still bidding for 2018. Adamu asked for the payments to be made through a relative who has a business in Europe. He also pledged his second preference for the US in the 2022 contest, but could not give his first. "I've already given my word to some other bid," he said.What is serious for FIFA is that both men told undercover reporters that they had been offered cash to vote for other bidding nations.<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529153922101935042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqCqD_OCP7qSiroKLz9sLFA-N9MshcUBIVr3Vz2AUd4OOpY7tX__gdjATiI-joa0ylkL2x316bOZFTn__oHRG5GJyvVOXv5IrrffVxYiE3mGl3HculkfEvRcGgFmGXhJqD0AGiVMPRlyO/s400/fifa-tapes.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 386px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" />The London Sunday Times, which published videos on its website, says Temarii wanted $2.3 million to fund a soccer academy in Auckland. The FIFA vice president also boasted that Oceania had been offered between $10 million and $12 million by supporters of two unnamed bidding countries. Adamu’s position looks particularly precarious as he asked the $800,000 for a personal football project to be channelled through a family company. Press Association Sport spoke to Adamu today but the Nigerian terminated the phone call when asked about the allegations. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAnOoiBiiYy92eSwbqzDOK6__Kg1x-MQxg9rPOTNYI10l2bE_urMw3oqGfqKOa12zef-aGZs8507d5W4M5RPgADD2sSemhdBkIa5wAkUH0228sJBRxDQwuEBxrAUc6tlbOPf_s0hOG9KR/s1600/fifa-diakite.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529152318851787602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAnOoiBiiYy92eSwbqzDOK6__Kg1x-MQxg9rPOTNYI10l2bE_urMw3oqGfqKOa12zef-aGZs8507d5W4M5RPgADD2sSemhdBkIa5wAkUH0228sJBRxDQwuEBxrAUc6tlbOPf_s0hOG9KR/s400/fifa-diakite.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Reporters spoke to six senior FIFA officials, both past and present, who offered to work as fixers for England's World Cup bid. They all suggested paying huge bribes to FIFA executive committee members. Among potential fixers who met the reporters were two FIFA committee members. Amadou Diakite (pictured left), on the referees' committee, advised the reporters they should offer bribes of $1m and he would make the introductions In Paris, the other serving official offered himself for hire for up to £300,000. Slim Aloulou, chairman of the FIFA disputes resolution committee, told the reporters they should not pay "peanuts" suggesting bribing members 1 million pounds each member.An investigation by London's The Sunday Times also uncovered allegations that supporters of two countries competing to host the World Cup have offered up to £750,000 a vote for personal "projects". Former FIFA delegate Ahongalu Fusimalohi, who served for years as FIFA executive member for Oceania, warned that the failure of the England bid to offer such deals would be its downfall:Fusimalohi is reported to have said: ‘England have got every reason why they should host the World Cup but they don’t strike the deals. You’ve got 24 members making that decision. 'Globally, if you don’t come up with something - although it’s corrupt it’s only corrupt if you get caught - these people will go all over the world to get it at any price. It’s sad but it’s true.’

World Cup Votes For Sale

FIFA's "For the Good of the Game" and "whatever's in it for me" two senior committee members offered to sell the...

2:36 PM

FIFA 2010: A Celebration of Genocide

FIFA 2010: A Celebration of Genocide

12:24 PM

HIDDEN SIDE OF THE RAINBOW NATION

By Bill Coles AS Nelson Mandela swept into power on a wave of euphoria 16 years ago, South Africa was optimistically dubbed the Rainbow Nation. But on the eve of the first World Cup ever to be staged on the African continent, the colour is fast fading from this rainbow dream. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidc55y6pZIzoTbXxD-3lhV24nLfxiLMLBm8RBY0h6cFehZaOQxppOailch8qoS8uzQhTzGMGkm9OqL4qoXox0u7xNvg3KPl2QKJfKm8EvoeCjVTadmqhRE3jml14z0yxdIUjgjtbM9u3vm/s1600/mandela-violence.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHG3cbLbT7k0rojIpk32W1P7Sp_FhaVpre1gMhNG9g2cVpprEEXQxIRpP0_x5bqdnuDb2FcPiFgWP-qrQIFWpwcD0UINKnJ0oGfZrFHgIXqP9Pvdf9UzbiD4ouZu-_eeSbby6e9fgb5DmJ/s1600/anc-terrorists.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5471927275638931586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHG3cbLbT7k0rojIpk32W1P7Sp_FhaVpre1gMhNG9g2cVpprEEXQxIRpP0_x5bqdnuDb2FcPiFgWP-qrQIFWpwcD0UINKnJ0oGfZrFHgIXqP9Pvdf9UzbiD4ouZu-_eeSbby6e9fgb5DmJ/s400/anc-terrorists.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 289px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Crime is now so rampant that more than 50 people are being murdered in South Africa every day. These brutal killings – often accompanied by rape – are so rife that they merit only a few paragraphs in the local papers. On top of this, the richest country in Africa is being swept by an Aids epidemic, with some 11 per cent of its 48million population now infected with the HIV virus. Average life expectancy is just 50 years. The tensions are also beginning to show in the much-trumpeted harmony between black, white and coloured, as it was revealed this month that more than 3,000 white farmers have been murdered since President Mandela took power. Retired journalist Brian O’Hanlon, who has lived in scenic Hermanus, near Cape Town, for the past eight years, said: “I would not go near a black township and I would not expect the people from a black township to come in to the white areas. “There are murders every day but if you’re a resident you become inured to it. If you didn’t, you would probably have to go back to England or my native Ireland.” With the World Cup just four weeks away, many believe the organiser Fifa is now practically running the country in order to ensure that South Africa presents a clean, wholesome image to the rest of the world. Thousands of beggars and street children have been shipped out of Johannesburg and Cape Town and crammed into tin-hut settlements. An army of 44,000 police officers – more than a quarter of South Africa’s entire force – is dedicated solely to ensuring the safety of World Cup spectators. Some 8,500 of these officers will be wearing full body armour shipped in from France. Meanwhile football fans are being blitzed with advice on how to stay safe, with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office warning of “a very high level of crime”. Yet despite all the fanfare, even Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 78, was this week lamenting how crime and corruption were ruining his homeland. The Nobel Peace Prize winner said: “Something happened to us. It looks like we have lost our pride. It is not because of poverty. “We are prisoners in our homes. Look at what is happening to the farmers. But it is not only the farmers. You read something horrific almost every day. We should ask ourselves: ‘Hey, what is going on?'” For some, the constant menace of crime has become so traumatic that they’ve had no option but to quit the country. Since the end of apartheid, some 800,000 white South Africans out of a total of 4.4 million have emigrated, abandoning hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. Mr O’Hanlon said: “You have to box clever and you mustn’t put yourself in a situation where there might be trouble. You mix with your own.” Almost every South African has some horror story to tell that has either occurred personally to them or to friends and family. These crime stories range from car-jackings at gunpoint – which are now so common they don’t even get a mention in the papers – to being pistol-whipped in your own home. Philip Oliver, 41, left South Africa three years ago for work reasons and now can only marvel at how free and easy life seems in the UK. Performance coach Mr Oliver, a father of one, says: “In South Africa you have to be constantly aware of the dangers of crime. I have to pinch myself now that I’m in Britain. It may sound perfectly normal but here I can walk from my car to my hotel without a care in the world. It’s an absolute delight. You could never do that in South Africa where you live with this kind of shadow of crime over your life.” He adds: “In Cape Town you can be living in an incredible apartment which looks over Table Mountain but you’re aware that it’s risky to walk there. It’s a heavy price to pay in South Africa but if that’s all you know, you accept it.” The most notorious of South Africa’s cities is Johannesburg, which is one of the hubs of organised crime. In the run-up to the World Cup, dealers are stockpiling huge quantities of cocaine and the amphetamine “tik”. Just near Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium is the lawless ghetto of Diepsloot which is seeing four murders every week. A taxi driver was recently shot dead because he refused to hand over the equivalent of 50p in change. Vigilante squads now roam the streets while kangaroo courts dispense violent and summary justice. One British expat moved to Cape Town after seeing his Durban home ransacked for the third time. During one of these robberies he was tied up and blindfolded. The expat, speaking anonymously, said: “When South Africa won the right to host the World Cup, we thought this was gold but now we learn that for six weeks Fifa will run this country. The informal traders who thought they would make a killing cannot go anywhere near the stadiums. “Of course security is a priority, with the crime and theft rates the highest in the world. Petty crime will be at a high level. The other day in Cape Town and without any announcement, 250 police and armoured cars drove through the streets in a show of strength. It was laughable. The police in the cars were all overweight, their beer bellies hanging over their belts. They couldn’t have run 50 metres.” Seraj Jones, a senior sports writer with Media 24 in Cape Town, was equally dismissive of Fifa: “They are throwing their weight around this country, especially in terms of monitoring the ticket allocations. Nothing moves here without Fifa’s approval. But I’m not at all sure that the infrastructure is going to be finished on time. I can see it all as I come in to work every morning and I’d be amazed if the transport system was ready in four weeks.” Since 1994 the murder toll among South African farmers has been alarming, with 3,000 dead including recently white supremacist Eugene Terre’Blanche. Almost all were white Afrikaners and many were tortured before they were killed. One farmer, Manie Potgieter, was seconds from being shot dead by three armed raiders. Mr Potgieter, 30, was attacked at his farm in Vredefort, south of Johannesburg. He was tied up and forced to watch his wife Helena, 28, being stripped. “She was telling me in Afrikaans not to worry,” he said. I just prayed. The man said: ‘Listen you white b******. I have Aids. We are now going to rape your wife and give her Aids too. Then, we kill you.'” Luckily the attackers were disturbed and fled. Race relations have now deteriorated so much in South Africa that Julius Malema, the firebrand leader of the ANC’s Youth League, has been whipping up rallies with an old anti-apartheid struggle song which includes the words, “Shoot the Boer”. He caused further outrage by telling a BBC journalist: “Don’t come here with that white tendency” before throwing him out of a press conference. Mr Oliver, who moved from South Africa to Edinburgh, said: “You just get used to hearing about the violence and sometimes if you’re unlucky you experience it yourself. Of course you do all the usual things to stay safe. You’ll have burglar bars on the doors and windows as well as alarms and you’ll hire a private security firm to provide an armed response. “You’re also on constant alert when you’re out of your house, when you’re driving or parking your car. You have this natural awareness of what’s going on around you. But sometimes it’s not enough. “A couple I know from Johannesburg had five youths break into their house and their daughter was home alone. She was very distressed. That was the last straw. They were out of the country within weeks and ended up in the UK.” He added: “I don’t know many South Africans who are not schizophrenic about their love and hate for the place. If you could wave a magic wand and remove the crime then I’d go back there because it’s God’s own country.”

HIDDEN SIDE OF THE RAINBOW NATION

By Bill Coles AS Nelson Mandela swept into power on a wave of euphoria 16 years ago, South Africa was optimistically dubbed the Rainbow Nati...

9:25 AM

Tourist tells of rape ordeal in Cape Winelands hotel

Dutch woman on antiretrovirals after horrifying ordeal in four-star hotel A Dutch tourist has vowed never to set foot in South Africa again - unless it is to give evidence against the man who gagged, robbed and raped her twice in the Cape Winelands. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8bP_E4eq59ajVT1ECmj-4cJslBFkO3Aw16f7juvoqpjZn1wVW72eNYL12bUiX8BBunVpPw12PR_rZ_0ckNFRRPN-mNZSSCy49QZnWq3JElE6JrAvT6WSA5efUzNG3EKl5CdDfYDToa_o/s1600/dutch_tourist_rape_ordeal.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464109427343896738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8bP_E4eq59ajVT1ECmj-4cJslBFkO3Aw16f7juvoqpjZn1wVW72eNYL12bUiX8BBunVpPw12PR_rZ_0ckNFRRPN-mNZSSCy49QZnWq3JElE6JrAvT6WSA5efUzNG3EKl5CdDfYDToa_o/s400/dutch_tourist_rape_ordeal.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 220px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Yvonne Petronella Den Hollander, 62, is suing the four-star Lord Charles Hotel for failing to keep her safe and is claiming R1.7-million in damages for the terrifying ordeal she endured. Den Hollander, a divorced mother of two, was brutalised within hours of checking into the luxury hotel. She was put on antiretrovirals after the attack, and underwent psychological counselling for trauma. Two years after she was raped and robbed of R3600 at the hotel on March 9 2008: <blockquote>•Police have yet to arrest a suspect in the case;•The hotel says it is not liable to pay damages because guests signed a disclaimer protecting it against claims for loss, damage or injury; and •Den Hollander is being asked to put up R200000 as security for court costs before her lawsuit can proceed against the hotel, because she is a foreigner.</blockquote>In court papers, she accused the hotel of negligence and failure to put in place measures that could have prevented her ordeal. Speaking to the Sunday Times this week through her lawyer, Luuk Rijnen, she said she would never again set foot in Africa, except to face her attacker in court. The trip to South Africa was a dream come true after she had saved up to pay for an affordable 17-day holiday package which included a trek in the Drakensberg mountains, a visit to Swaziland, a trip to the Kruger National Park and KwaZulu-Natal. It was shortly after arriving at the Lord Charles Hotel, ahead of a tour of the Cape Winelands, that the trip turned into a nightmare. In the statement to the police after the incident, she said she was convinced she would be killed by the rapist. "He made me lie on the bed with my face down. He took the telephone wire. With this he tied my ankles. I was lying on my belly with my hands and feet tightly tied to my back. "I remember that he made this quite tight. After this he put blankets and pillows over me, so I was afraid now he would shoot me because of all this noise-insulating material." Her assailant had been hiding behind the bathroom door when Den Hollander returned to her room after a few drinks with her tour group. The hotel, however, is defending the claim and in turn said Den Hollander was negligent with her own safety by not properly locking her room door despite written warnings. The hotel said it had taken "reasonable steps to guard against harm to guests by among other things, engaging the services of an independent contractor". Group chief executive officer for Command Security Services, Shaffie Mowzer, said on Friday that what had happened was both unfortunate and tragic but the company could not comment. The hotel further stated in court papers that Den Hollander had, upon arrival at the hotel, signed a disclaimer absolving it of any liability. It read: "The Lord Charles accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage or injury that may occur on our premises." The hotel has applied to the court to compel her to pay R200000 in security for costs. But Den Hollander has vowed to fight on and says she refuses to be bullied. Den Hollander told the Sunday Times via e-mail: "Did they change anything? Or do they just try to push me away so no one finds out how unsafe it is?"

Tourist tells of rape ordeal in Cape Winelands hotel

Dutch woman on antiretrovirals after horrifying ordeal in four-star hotel A Dutch tourist has vowed never to set foot in South Africa again ...

9:03 AM

WORLD CUP MACHETE THREAT

<a href="http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2010/03/afrikaans-girl-target-of-racist-hate.html">Anti-white hate-speech incites ‘machete threat’ writes UK journo</a> <a href="http://www.dailystarsunday.co.uk/news/view/129402/WORLD-CUP-MACHETE-THREAT/" target="_blank">Teams warned to avoid ‘the land of murder’ this summer</a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EJAwbt3p__Ztwx20TmOkyVqPBT94tTqgh5474LQ1778j5AgIgJdGMwEpiWb6Ml1gEdVTtlwGZHdI35gLsCPBCniWR6_4eJjVRbNtXYdg5haJPaQJLSzJTQY1EAb67PoczE6TF11uMBMk/s1600/FIFA_World_Cup_bloodbath_-Race_War_declared_in_South_Africa1__Star11.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458235480681606546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EJAwbt3p__Ztwx20TmOkyVqPBT94tTqgh5474LQ1778j5AgIgJdGMwEpiWb6Ml1gEdVTtlwGZHdI35gLsCPBCniWR6_4eJjVRbNtXYdg5haJPaQJLSzJTQY1EAb67PoczE6TF11uMBMk/s400/FIFA_World_Cup_bloodbath_-Race_War_declared_in_South_Africa1__Star11.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 392px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>In an article by Steve Hughes of the Daily Star Sunday newspaper in the UK on 5 April 2010 writes: “England fans could be caught up in a machete race war” .YouTube video warns: “Burn your tickets…’ Don't go to South Africa you will be murdered by ANCYL Terrorists.A football fan posted the following warning on YouTube: “this is the depth of depravity we are speaking about <a href="http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2009/08/alphabetic-name-list-murders-attacks-on_26.html" target="_blank" title="Hunt on for female rape gang">here…</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsO78kkJP0&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank" title="With a monthly salary of R20-thousand how did Malema afford to pay cash for histwo mansions worth R4,5-million? Now that's real witchcraft...">Julius Malema</a> calls for the <a href="http://www.saps.gov.za/statistics/reports/crimestats/2009/categories/murder.pdf" target="_blank" title="The murder rates must be added up to the homicide rates to get the correct death rate">murders</a> of all the people of European descent, the Boers… Your football shirt won’t protect you in South Africa; these people have firearms, will shoot you, and don’t give a shit about football…’ <object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cLOGFnEkSTE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cLOGFnEkSTE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> WORLD CUP FANS FACE BLOODBATHSteve Hughes writes: ENGLAND fans could be caught up in a machete race war at the World Cup in South Africa. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWj4cMpNV6jVMRqZ7fyHVIR8JF2BeS8FU-0TTnkemZsS5BzoNSm5FsAbLY-_pu0aVnhx_pcl2svfHZK2J27RF5q2RhCKjmwoLVLoD3hV_bP69L-RQ8PSASUCaUOVozd90bmzfYo6fiHPAi/s1600/WC+Machete+Threat.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-6yO9HVD3ZON7W3Y5Ul7MNebBUelixof3Q-wWatp76_AxeXDxOwzbNn7ws-8-iy5b_Y4BZC6qWpgsbronPNf3OCwCpQL3ttOa2byqiXddqYlL_N7NmRDw5GNSs0Zt2GWIqxvxxoBzeLd/s1600/WCS+FANS+SA+BLOODBATH.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53VCzFkRTIKNN6MVEu6lz64qyti94EmEfEqZ8FWvxJymhLKCbtc0Y77vGkqNkOSVtf82SXDjHf32npoUG1eDgx7cOUzFiYVSrYfFl69EMl88oHHBCRjtEAGX9NVOFX_bkb2em_snXD8jj/s1600/FIFA_World_Cup_bloodbath_-Race_War_declared_in_South_Africa2__Star22.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458235472001625010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53VCzFkRTIKNN6MVEu6lz64qyti94EmEfEqZ8FWvxJymhLKCbtc0Y77vGkqNkOSVtf82SXDjHf32npoUG1eDgx7cOUzFiYVSrYfFl69EMl88oHHBCRjtEAGX9NVOFX_bkb2em_snXD8jj/s400/FIFA_World_Cup_bloodbath_-Race_War_declared_in_South_Africa2__Star22.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px" /></a>The killing of white supremacist leader Eugene Terre’Blanche caused far-right campaigners to warn teams to avoid the “land of murder” this summer. More than 25,000 England fans are due to watch Wayne Rooney, 24, and Fabio Capello, 63, launch the campaign in ten weeks. Many supporters have already hired extra security in the crime-<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavS55I1wCa3FQ-v0PuKBX4IGzSoTz8M-ZyMIZL8S4TJXN4TCI9tEgaD7XvToXDvuqvO5dufwm43hn6xlMMkOFIt_GT4Oh4QAmc1rNRxHEBQCNgFHpXfXllzum0X5pH3jPm69rYOi7rOIh/s1600/FIFA_World_Cup_bloodbath_-_Race_War_declared_in_South_Africa3__Star33.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458236266886381298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavS55I1wCa3FQ-v0PuKBX4IGzSoTz8M-ZyMIZL8S4TJXN4TCI9tEgaD7XvToXDvuqvO5dufwm43hn6xlMMkOFIt_GT4Oh4QAmc1rNRxHEBQCNgFHpXfXllzum0X5pH3jPm69rYOi7rOIh/s400/FIFA_World_Cup_bloodbath_-_Race_War_declared_in_South_Africa3__Star33.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px" /></a>ravaged country. But that was before the murder of Terre’Blanche, 69. The head of resistance movement Afrikaner Weerstands- beweging was hacked to death with a machete at his home just 40 miles from England’s <a href="http://dailystar.co.uk/search/World%20Cup/1/created/" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">World Cup</a> camp. Two of his black farm workers, who allegedly claimed he owed them money, were being held by police last night. White leaders have already vowed “revenge” on black groups blamed for inciting the murder. And machete gangs were roaming the streets. AWB spokesman Andre Visagie said: “The death of Mr Terre’Blanche is a declaration of war by the black community of South Africa to the white community that has been killed for 10 years on end. “They attacked him in such a way it was difficult to recognise the face of Eugene Terre’Blanche. “We will decide upon the action we are going to take to avenge Mr Terre’Blanche’s death.” AWB’s supporters have blamed African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema, who caused outrage by recently singing an anti-white song called Kill The Boers. But the ANCYL denied that Malema’s singing, ruled illegal by a South African court, had anything to do with Terre’Blanche’s killing. Malema, 29, has already vowed to continue with the inflammatory songs, adding: “We are not going to stop. We are prepared to go to jail and get arrested again.” The ruling African National Congress last night tried to play down claims of a civil war. ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said: “The black community has never declared war on any other nationality in South Africa.” South African President Jacob Zuma, 67, called for both sides to remain calm as he desperately tried to prevent an explosion of violence. FIFA would be left with a “total nightmare” if civil war erupts and means the tournament cannot be played in the country this summer. With only 10 weeks to go, football’s world governing body would almost certainly not have time to reschedule the World Cup for this year. Two years ago, FIFA president Sepp Blatter, 74, admitted there was a contingency plan in place, should South Africa not be ready in time. But a FIFA source said: “If it becomes too dangerous to hold the World Cup in South Africa then we are looking at a total nightmare. “I don’t know if it could maybe be moved to next year, but we are all hoping that the problems in South Africa are resolved in time for June.” Even before the race-war threat, more than a million tickets remained unsold. Source - <a href="http://www.dailystarsunday.co.uk/news/">http://www.dailystarsunday.co.uk/news/</a> - <a href="http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/">http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/</a>

WORLD CUP MACHETE THREAT

Anti-white hate-speech incites ‘machete threat’ writes UK journo Teams warned to avoid ‘the land of murder’ this summer In an article by St...

1:40 PM

The joke is you, blue light bullies.

<a href="http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=1037" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: FIFA bullies target Kulula">FIFA bullies target Kulula</a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPn3NWqI5MRJSUg_2V5fzFfgqwetjMk1SgRCZduOdYftW5Hh7EsD8trn6aMDzsKydBEN5-NIFA-8M3DjZY_Vonxv1176w3T4bb3_FCf9xEwWNOWETd5UzDFdbgLtEuRNMhf50504xr1_9X/s1600-h/kulula.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451587006627794610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPn3NWqI5MRJSUg_2V5fzFfgqwetjMk1SgRCZduOdYftW5Hh7EsD8trn6aMDzsKydBEN5-NIFA-8M3DjZY_Vonxv1176w3T4bb3_FCf9xEwWNOWETd5UzDFdbgLtEuRNMhf50504xr1_9X/s400/kulula.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 282px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>According to Kulula it has been targeted by FIFA for its ad on being the ‘Unofficial National Carrier of the ‘You Know What.” The low cost airline recently challenged other carriers to keep their fares low during the FIFA World Cup in June and July this year. News broke on its official Twitter account (@<a href="http://twitter.com/kulula" target="_blank">kulula</a>) with the following post; “oh dear letter from FIFA’s lawyers says we broke their trademark of the use of “South Africa” and think our non-WC ad was about soccer…” Apparently the lawyers are objecting not only to the use of “South Africa” but also to the use of soccer balls and the image of a stadium. Even use of the our national flag was an issue. It is absolutely outrageous. We have signed over our country, its symbols and our economy to one ‘Sepp’ Blatter. Nasty. <a href="http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=1082" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Kulula answers FIFA with new ad">Kulula answers FIFA with new ad</a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJw1yms9ln9xfT0l3WbhxPIOLyZy8TPewgB1K-6nCnOshwZKp3AMRK93qAoLAAlHNZu0k7eZnu8_FaENUiF7v6QFyYIIXJmhJpFc008U39rs7CLriS-Ju016p9BIGsc3hG06Jr32KG0bq/s1600-h/kulula2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451587013984535330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJw1yms9ln9xfT0l3WbhxPIOLyZy8TPewgB1K-6nCnOshwZKp3AMRK93qAoLAAlHNZu0k7eZnu8_FaENUiF7v6QFyYIIXJmhJpFc008U39rs7CLriS-Ju016p9BIGsc3hG06Jr32KG0bq/s400/kulula2.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 282px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>Kulula ad agency King James chose to respond to FIFAs’ legal threats with another tongue-in-cheek ad that is running in the Sunday papers today. The ad looks similar to the original that caused FIFA and its lawyers to lose their sense of humour over the use of, amongst other things, the national flag, footballs and vuvuzelas in, gulp, combination. Click on images to enlarge The new ad, headlined Not Next Year, Not This Year, But somewhere in between (avoiding reference to 2010) replaces the image of a stadium with a rather similar looking image of the Storms River suspension bridge. Footballs are replaced with rugby balls, snooker balls and even glitter balls. Vuvuzelas definitely become golf tees. The national flag, apparently trademarked by FIFA, might be a beach towel (or not). Then there is the ’short sighted baby’ in the right hand corner which represent Who knows Who! It pokes fun at FIFAdiots. But it will probably fly over the heads of FIFA official dom like a green jet plane. Source as per the <a href="http://www.marklives.com/wordpress/?p=1037" target="_blank">original MarkLives.com story</a>.

The joke is you, blue light bullies.

FIFA bullies target Kulula According to Kulula it has been targeted by FIFA for its ad on being the ‘Unofficial National Carrier of the ‘You...

2:20 PM

FIFA gags Kulula

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_XzzqHVFPoteR5DKmaovXHTbuCvumenXgFig3e3SyeWpC1dZKHasGkW8RMfcYj6OfAl2qSzVT3LlkpQVWcM-25Xun2XXQWNVh7qsnaTQC6206r-IKmdFHqT3S5xwAJVBF7iugqDGGG1i/s1600-h/emirates_fifa_partnership.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451619829351120418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_XzzqHVFPoteR5DKmaovXHTbuCvumenXgFig3e3SyeWpC1dZKHasGkW8RMfcYj6OfAl2qSzVT3LlkpQVWcM-25Xun2XXQWNVh7qsnaTQC6206r-IKmdFHqT3S5xwAJVBF7iugqDGGG1i/s400/emirates_fifa_partnership.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 398px" /></a>Football body FIFA says that its gagging of airline Kulula should serve as a warning to other enemies of FIFA's "thousand year football Reich". "Today Kulula, tomorrow the world!" screamed a spokesman at a torchlight rally last night where it was decided that all advertising copywriters would be rounded up and sent east. Speaking from a FIFA internment camp in eastern Siberia, Kulula spokesman Ramjet Ramotswe said that the airline's marketing department "never stood a chance". "One moment we were brainstorming over a cappuccino in the break room and the next thing we heard the drone of long-range accountants and a huge PA system blaring out the Rhinemaidens' song from the beginning of Wagner's Götterdämmerung," recalled a traumatized Ramotswe. Moments later FIFA stormtroopers had rounded up the copywriting team and herded it into trucks bound for Russia. "We tried telling them that South Africa is our country and that vuvuzelas are a national symbol but an official slapped me with his leather riding gloves, adjusted his monocle, stroked his dueling scar in a menacing way and told me that South Africa has now been incorporated into 'Mother FIFA' and no longer exists," said Ramotswe. The Red Cross has urged the families of the copywriters not to give up hope, saying that they were trying to work on a deal whereby the copywriters' lives would be spared if they spent the next twenty years writing up-beat and life-affirming commercials for FIFA about how soccer unites the world in love and harmony. This morning FIFA confirmed that it had relocated the team to Siberia and reminded all South Africans to take down all flags, emblems, badges and graphics that showed allegiance to "the country formerly known as South Africa". "Anyone who flies the South African flag while blowing a vuvuzela and mentioning the current year is in direct contravention of FIFA copyright laws and will be summarily transported," said spokesman Pele Lebensraum. "The 2010 World Cup is a time of celebration, love, hope, unity and solidarity, and anyone who disagrees with this will find themselves in a cattle car heading east." Asked how and when FIFA annexed almost every national symbol in South Africa, Lebensraum said that it had been a simple transaction between itself and the South African government. "We asked them: 'Do you want to build houses for your people, fix your education system, get your crime problem under control and invest in food security; or do you want to host the World Cup?' "They were so excited and so busy swallowing drool that they couldn't speak. In the end they just pointed to a soccer ball and made whining noises. So here we are."

FIFA gags Kulula

Football body FIFA says that its gagging of airline Kulula should serve as a warning to other enemies of FIFA's "thousand year foot...

1:00 PM

Fifa 2010 Hospitality contracts goes to Mugabe's nephew

By Craig McKune Fifa’s World Cup Hospitality packages has been awarded to businessman and former Zanu-PF MP Philip Chiyangwa, who is the subject of international sanctions. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYos2i7VPjPFEuEBmHXUUde_NuApbl3ZmmZ1NkmDE6xo7l-lc-T47w4i1IXq4ssDmwE6n1v88yyAhZl9ZEx4XYKuYbBeuvnGdjOsdJwizvSEkAMaSv1SDUqEBEaD6XHJI4zC39-CVgc5Ib/s1600-h/fifa-2010.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkaLXzdRM2vMJNc30qPUWVwEtzZ1dYC7FbpIKwtQVZJUEKMpNh1l3dIxOgAtc1wnuw9d3sSHOGVLytH5IM-rCQetYqhhR300_KRXyzbAvVb3BzNs9hCQQ5TPxVo7m9tNWVbHO5Wgjac8O/s1600-h/fifa-2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443728493302747314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkaLXzdRM2vMJNc30qPUWVwEtzZ1dYC7FbpIKwtQVZJUEKMpNh1l3dIxOgAtc1wnuw9d3sSHOGVLytH5IM-rCQetYqhhR300_KRXyzbAvVb3BzNs9hCQQ5TPxVo7m9tNWVbHO5Wgjac8O/s320/fifa-2010.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 271px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>Chiyangwa’s Native Investment Group (NIG) was hand-picked late last year to sell World Cup packages for Fifa. While ticket prices are being slashed in South Africa to fill stadiums, and Zimbabwean fans had only bought 546 tickets by the beginning of this month, Chiyangwa has claimed his Native Investment Group, which he directs, is doing a rip-roaring trade. Fifa’s Hospitality packages - including premium Match tickets, catering, entertainment, “dedicated hostesses” and travel packages - are managed internationally by Match Hospitality, which appoints regional agents and sub-agents such as NIG. Match Hospitality is run by Fifa president Sepp Blatter’s nephew Philippe Blatter, through his sports marketing company Infront. According to Match spokesman Peter Csanadi, NIG was “identified and appointed” - without a tender process - by the sub-Saharan African agent, a joint venture between Primedia and Sail. “The best possible entities are identified for the respective territory and, provided they are available and willing, they may be appointed as sales agents or sub-agents,” he said. Chiyangwa has been targeted by New Zealand’s and Australia’s sanctions regimes, according to their websites. Asked on Friday whether Fifa was aware of this, Fifa officials referred queries to Match, which did not respond. According to The New Zimbabwe, Chiyangwa - who is building tourist accommodation on residential land traded with Harare authorities - recently told journalists his company had overshot its sales target four times in two weeks. Csanadi refused to say how many VIP packages had been sold in Zimbabwe, how much they cost or what profit went to Chiyangwa’s company. Asked how NIG was chosen above other Zimbabwean companies, he said: “I do not think it is appropriate to discuss our business decisions in detail.” Chiyangwa was provincial chairman of Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland West province. He was well-known for starting the Affirmative Action Group in the early 1990s which successfully campaigned for the Indigenisation Act, demanding 51 percent local ownership of any foreign investment. Today Chiyangwa is one of the country’s most successful businessmen and was seen this month on BBC Newsnight, where he was paraded by a government official as “a model of a successful businessman in Zimbabwe today”. Showing off his 35-room mansion and a collection of cars including a Rolls-Royce, a Bentley, a Mercedes-Benz and his daughter’s sports cars, Chiyangwa told reporter Sue Lloyd-Roberts: “If I want to buy a jet tomorrow, I will do it here. If I want to buy a Rolls-Royce, I have one. If I want to drive a Bentley then I have one. If it’s a beautiful mansion house, I bought one. I built it myself.” Last month, the Zimbabwe Mail reported that Chiyangwa would bankroll a bid for the Zimbabwe Football Association presidency by one Lesley Gwindi, through his vice-president hopeful (and Chiyangwa’s employee) Nigel Munyati. But Munyati later denied he was running for the position. According to investigative reporter Andrew Jennings, who wrote the book Foul: The Secret World of Fifa, the football federation has been involved in several suspect relationships with rulers and their relatives. Sepp Blatter was in 1999 awarded The Humane Order of African Redemption by then-Liberian dictator Charles Taylor. In 2002, Taylor’s son-in-law Edwin Snow, head of Liberia’s Football Association, campaigned for Blatter to be re-elected as Fifa president. Blatter’s presidency is meanwhile entering a critical phase as he campaigns for a fourth term, the success of which relies heavily on a successful tournament in 2010. But while he has touted 2010 as an “African” World Cup, less than 2 percent of tickets have been sold to Africans outside South Africa, prompting calls for ticket sales methods to be urgently re-examined. Fifa meanwhile announced last week that a substantial portion of its mid-range category two and three group match tickets (R840 and R540) had been recategorised as cheaper category four tickets (R140) in an effort to fill stadiums. This came amid admissions by the football federation and the local organising committee that earlier estimates of 450 000 international football tourists were over-optimistic. The Guardian in London quoted Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke saying 2,1 million of 2,9 million tickets had been sold but many were in the hands of tour operators, not fans. Related: - <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=vn20100222065008749C381670">http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=vn20100222065008749C381670</a>

Fifa 2010 Hospitality contracts goes to Mugabe's nephew

By Craig McKune Fifa’s World Cup Hospitality packages has been awarded to businessman and former Zanu-PF MP Philip Chiyangwa, who is the sub...

2:17 PM

Operation Dribble

From the London Review Blog - By <a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/author/hsfbilliafrica-com/" title="Posts by R.W. Johnson">R.W. Johnson</a> Just over a week ago the South African Football Association (Safa) –which is <a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n24/rw-johnson/diary">shortly to host the World Cup</a> – sacked its chief executive, Raymond Hack, replacing him with the unknown and untried Leslie Sedibe. Sedibe happily announced that ‘I can promise you parties, parties, parties all the way.’ This week it emerges that Safa is having major cash-flow problems, owes a lot of money to the bank and a whole lot more to suppliers. Safa has to subsidise its 52 regions inside the country to help them pay their administrative costs. Many of these regions are on the point of closure, unable to pay wages, rent or phone bills. Safa itself is said to be ‘paralysed’. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435237902071978002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaXkQo0ClCZhRcOIXw97VTE-A_eCrta0nBqaLlc1MlOUpItMDaU9aSG0bafF2hwKhoBl3mENtT7ocQ5XRrxZO1sG1rvvpJ6zWVcVBXvJs202aH2fPUGU-3BHqJXcYf6iU4gj434PN32Z5/s400/2010+FIFA+World+Cup+Match+nBNUcobrfUkl.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />Safa is the battleground for South Africa’s famous soccer bosses, rich men who like cutting a dash and are rough: accusations of attempted or actual murder are not uncommonly flung at them and they are willing to use financial or actual muscle to solve most problems. The authorities are visibly afraid of them. When Irvin Khoza, one of the greatest of all the bosses – ‘the Iron Duke’, as he is known – was found not to have paid his taxes for some time the tax authorities merely called him in for ‘consultations’ and reached a quiet arrangement with him. There was no thought of court action. Similarly, a few years ago the police arrested dozens of referees in ‘Operation Dribble’, having discovered that they had been bribed to fix most of South Africa’s Professional Soccer League (PSL) soccer matches. The police were very pleased at having caught the refs red-handed but then it dawned that they could not be sentenced without the naming in open court of the soccer bosses who had bribed them. This was obviously unthinkable so the refs were all released and continue to manage domestic games in time-honoured fashion. The coup at Safa was all about bosses. The World Cup will be run by the Local Organising Committee and Irvin Khoza, the chairman of the PSL, is also chairman of the LOC. He also owns and chairs Orlando Pirates, one of the country’s top clubs, and is Safa’s vice-president. Normally he would get his way on anything but Danny Jordaan, who recently gave up the Safa presidency but remains its dominant figure, is involved in an all-out struggle with Khoza. And Jordaan, who used to be an ANC MP, has the backing both of the Football Transformation Forum and of Fifa’s Sepp Blatter. In World Cup year such good political connections count double and Hack, a lonely white, had the common sense to back Khoza (an African) which is why Hack got sacked by the Jordaan forces (Jordaan being a Coloured). The prize at stake here is a seat on Fifa’s 24-man executive committee, which means a great deal of money and power. Khoza had assumed it was his virtually for the asking but Jordaan clearly has other ideas. The money problems are largely due to the fact that South Africa’s fans won’t pay much to watch rigged games so Safa depends on sponsors who are in a continual state of cardiac arrest over Safa’s antics. Things will doubtless get papered over for now. However, when, in October 2009, Safa brought back Carlos Parreira as coach of the national team after his predecessor had lost eight of the last nine games, it simultaneously brought in Jomo Sono as its technical director. Somo is another famous soccer boss – he even named his club, Jomo Cosmos, after himself – and twice before on the eve of major tournaments he has pushed out the sitting coach and taken over the managership himself. There is no doubt that Jomo would dearly love to lead Bafana Bafana out to start the World Cup and bathe in publicity as the hosts’ manager, so no one is ruling out a last-minute coup at team level either. But there’s the catch. Jomo’s management record is pretty good – and he used to play alongside Pelé himself – but no one thinks Bafana can get through the first round. Unless, of course, we can rediscover some of the ingenuity revealed by Operation Dribble. Related -<a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/article256543.ece">http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/article256543.ece</a>

Operation Dribble

From the London Review Blog - By R.W. Johnson Just over a week ago the South African Football Association (Safa) –which is shortly to host ...

12:14 PM

Barbaric Zulu bull slaughter all in the name of ’culture‘

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vEKJBxXa60ztQpb_N7wOp5J7jB9bUUHUocTVs3ogUxs_gpKa6mNaO8IXrWMBUtHceGLwaZHdLzSPW_oMC2XEqTJ1DW1L8ZJOKQc63WbDWZUfUt_btlpZGZmCFmm7IIingGZpVaoLxO_U/s1600/bull466.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407687635853880802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vEKJBxXa60ztQpb_N7wOp5J7jB9bUUHUocTVs3ogUxs_gpKa6mNaO8IXrWMBUtHceGLwaZHdLzSPW_oMC2XEqTJ1DW1L8ZJOKQc63WbDWZUfUt_btlpZGZmCFmm7IIingGZpVaoLxO_U/s400/bull466.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 215px" /></a>Will the application to the South African FIFA Soccer World Cup Committee by these ‘traditional leaders’ be approved? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Here ANYTHING is possible, including approval. After all, we do have a propensity for erring on the side of having populist political leaders.My little voice is screaming STOP. But it is guaranteed to remain unheard. Hence this post. There is also a petition to help prevent this abomination. Whether your national team is playing in the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup or not, please sign and ask others to sign too. <a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Stop-2010-World-Cup-Animal-Sacrifice" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Stop 2010 World Cup Animal Sacrifice">http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Stop-2010-World-Cup-Animal-Sacrifice</a>Bid to stop 'cruel' Zulu ritualSouth African animal rights activists have agreed to meet Zulu groups in a bid to stop a bull-killing ritual, a senior official says. Cultural commissioner Pat Mkhize announced the meeting after a court case brought by Animal Rights Africa was postponed. They are suing Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, arguing that the ceremony, known as Ukweshwama, is cruel. A royal spokesman said the killing was a highly symbolic way of thanking God. Mr Mkhize said all parties had agreed to take part in talks in Durban on Tuesday. "We have called a meeting of all parties because we believe that this matter can still be resolved out of court," South African news agency Sapa quoted him as saying. 'Unfathomable' crueltyIt carries a YouTube rating of 18 and is not suitable for sensitive viewers. <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TaxRE44Erss&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TaxRE44Erss&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Animal campaigners say the Ukweshwama ritual does nothing to strengthen nation-building, social cohesion or peace. In a statement, Animal Rights Africa quoted an eyewitness as saying the bull was tortured for 40 minutes during a previous ceremony. "Dozens [of people] trampled the bellowing, groaning bull, wrenched its head around by the horns to try to break its neck, pulled its tongue out, stuffed sand in its mouth and even tried to tie its penis in a knot. "Gleaming with sweat, they raised their arms in triumph and sang when the bull finally succumbed." <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpp3NX0j1oyiLZxueH7ecl84mHZB5La4I-rkMERAp0nsXGOMJwha36__4oh1T0d2q3wMWyLGniUPAl6Zmpl_9IXHp0wlVY_49uqzxJiYU-q4hG0WrsjLTjtk369uWJDtuUKuoLhx9j0lLz/s1600/bullKilling.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407687950166251202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpp3NX0j1oyiLZxueH7ecl84mHZB5La4I-rkMERAp0nsXGOMJwha36__4oh1T0d2q3wMWyLGniUPAl6Zmpl_9IXHp0wlVY_49uqzxJiYU-q4hG0WrsjLTjtk369uWJDtuUKuoLhx9j0lLz/s400/bullKilling.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 164px" /></a>The group's spokesperson, Michele Pickover, said the treatment of the bull was "unfathomable". "It physically pains us and is an affront to our dignity that an animal is made to suffer in such an overtly cruel and protracted way," she said. Royal spokesman Nhlanhla Mtaka told the BBC's World Today programme the activists had misrepresented the ceremony. "I have been attending this ceremony for 20 years and it does not happen the way they say it is," he said. "You will hear young men and old people singing Zulu hymns and people sitting down and teaching each other about the value and history of the Zulus." Zulu groups are adamant that the ceremony will go ahead on 5 December, saying their rights are protected by the constitution. The Pietermaritzburg High Court scheduled the next hearing of the activists' case for 1 December.See also <a href="http://en.wordpress.com/tag/ritual-animal-slaughter/" rel="category tag" title="View all posts in ritual animal slaughter">ritual animal slaughter</a>

Barbaric Zulu bull slaughter all in the name of ’culture‘

Will the application to the South African FIFA Soccer World Cup Committee by these ‘traditional leaders’ be approved? Well, your guess is as...

6:44 AM

Confed Cup Soccer Superfans Wanted

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwv1hcw32bHXL5rdLEzhjkyC9XlNz1M_WkMLdP6R9ty_-rGLmXSx-roSTd3vlEI0qmiQQqbeqtRaRb1Zmf-b_P6yvRCDGA8MqT-C6fGQPl-euAVVjAc2JZ8lmQ_TkeZHl_wZ1qJ2AriNc/s1600-h/confed-spain-rustenburg.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348001701916493234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwv1hcw32bHXL5rdLEzhjkyC9XlNz1M_WkMLdP6R9ty_-rGLmXSx-roSTd3vlEI0qmiQQqbeqtRaRb1Zmf-b_P6yvRCDGA8MqT-C6fGQPl-euAVVjAc2JZ8lmQ_TkeZHl_wZ1qJ2AriNc/s400/confed-spain-rustenburg.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px" /></a><a class="newshead" href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/SpecialReports/2009ConfedCup/Article.aspx?id=1018986" target="_parent">Fifa free tickets </a>Been watching the 2009 Confederations Cup? Noticed anything? If you're an astute observer, you've probably noticed the abundance of empty seats at the stadiums in South Africa. Apparently, so have FIFA. And they're not too happy about this. More than half of the Royal Bafokeng stadium seats in Rustenburg were empty for the Confederations Cup match between Spain and New ZealandSepp Blatter was yesterday highly critical of the Confederations Cup local organising committee for the lack of supporters at Spain's 5-0 thrashing of New Zealand at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng on Sunday night. Despite the presence of the European champions and world number one ranked side, the stadium was at best half full, a seriously poor attendance for Phokeng's first match of the tournament. Organizers had insisted in the buildup that all but the expensive 700 Rand seats had been sold out for the opening Group A match. But come kickoff, two-thirds of the seats sat empty, with yellow and blue seats outnumbering fans at the 45,000 capacity stadium before late arrivals brought the total number to 21,649 as Liverpool's Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick inside 17 minutes to lead Spain to a 5-0 win. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oBUYdUJkBXCA6ymUlS_3iYWyz09O50W5GUGiSYuSTx96zni5LP4UHKTJirwuLGE9v5sOwcrUUPAx7D_pdl3w10xD46r-uumkWIn3g9muq3U-TiFreAbhN68dm-2YQSiZIMOcYUcOOzM/s1600-h/confed-empty-seats.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348001716562191266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oBUYdUJkBXCA6ymUlS_3iYWyz09O50W5GUGiSYuSTx96zni5LP4UHKTJirwuLGE9v5sOwcrUUPAx7D_pdl3w10xD46r-uumkWIn3g9muq3U-TiFreAbhN68dm-2YQSiZIMOcYUcOOzM/s400/confed-empty-seats.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 255px" /></a>"On Sunday evening in Rustenburg the committee should have done more to bring people to the stadium," the Fifa president said. The atmosphere at the Royal Bafokeng stadium was dulled by the thousands of empty seats While Blatter professed himself content with the crowd at Ellis Park for Bafana Bafana's opening match against Iraq, he suggested that the organising committee could have filled the empty seats clearly visible at the ground. Blatter said organisers should have tried alternative ways to get the stadiums full. There must be some action taken for the rest of the competition. To have half-empty stadiums is not FIFA. They have to do something about it. Despite the Confederations Cup being the first major footballing event of its kind on the African continent, South Africa played against Iraq to a crowd of under 50,000 in a 61,000-capacity stadium at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Blatter added: "We were not happy with the crowd at the opening match (South Africa v Iraq) or on Sunday evening when the European champions Spain were playing New Zealand in Rustenburg. It is up to the organisers, the local media, to get the message across." <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFM1tvu8pEp6gynEuRyXzTjquEwfbiQ8QMbiHcPwzcLQ4fZSMyTXVolFeyhobiuBdRBBYKUppGuTKi0uEYo7RDmqIMnn_DTcRC-i5kkm29x3noJ3gyEkuNxeAgVw-EucxZBkeIBJgVXI/s1600-h/confed-spain-nz-rustenburg.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348001707177548546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFM1tvu8pEp6gynEuRyXzTjquEwfbiQ8QMbiHcPwzcLQ4fZSMyTXVolFeyhobiuBdRBBYKUppGuTKi0uEYo7RDmqIMnn_DTcRC-i5kkm29x3noJ3gyEkuNxeAgVw-EucxZBkeIBJgVXI/s400/confed-spain-nz-rustenburg.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" /></a>In Bloemfontein the attendance at the match between five-times world champions Brazil and African champions Egypt, which Blatter attended was also disappointingly low with the 40,000-capacity Free State Stadium only about half full when the match kicked off. There was no clamour for seats in the match between Spain and New Zealand Blatter was reluctant to comment on Bafana's disappointing goalless draw with Iraq, meanwhile, though he did suggest that the national team ought to have managed to score. "As Fifa president I am not in a position to comment, but I do hope that in their next game Bafana can at least score a goal," said Blatter. Organizers of this event and next year's World Cup finals have called for a better response from the South African public for the games. "The South African nation's job is to host the event, not attend it. You can take the horse to the water, but you can't force it to drink that water." 2010 World Cup organizing committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo told a news briefing in Johannesburg. Sizing Things Up - that's just what the soccer world is doing as it assesses South Africa's ability to host the World Cup next year. <ul><li>Rows of empty seats at the 16 Confederations Cup matches in Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein won't help, as organizers are scrambling to sell the approximately 30 percent of tickets still available. </li><li>South Africa appears to have overcome the main criticism that the stadiums for the World Cup wouldn't be ready on time. </li><li>For many months after South Africa was awarded the World Cup, very little work was done to build and refurbish the grounds or improve transportation. Work is still going on, with long lines of traffic in Johannesburg evidence of last-minute efforts to improve the city's main roads. </li><li>Days before Bloemfontein's first game between Brazil and Egypt on June 15, workers were still busy renovating and modernizing the quaint little airport. Passengers arriving and departing had to squeeze past each other with half the terminal cordoned off for ongoing construction work. </li><li>Related story:- <a href="http://iluvsa.blogspot.com/2009/06/nevermind-criminals-mind-police.html">Nevermind the criminals, mind the police</a> Reuters soccer correspondent <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/soccer/author/mikecollett/" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" title="Posts by Mike Collett">Mike Collett</a> has an encounter with the local constabulary - an incident that will no doubt be repeated many times when the soccer fans descend on South Africa for the big event. <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/soccer/2009/06/15/mind-how-you-go-sir-a-lesson-with-the-south-african-police/">Mind how you go, sir — a lesson with the South African police</a> </li></ul>

Confed Cup Soccer Superfans Wanted

Fifa free tickets Been watching the 2009 Confederations Cup? Noticed anything? If you're an astute observer, you've probably notic...

1:14 PM

2010 World Cup - Afro-pessimism rears its head?

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVUY6UMfECPjvjpBgROamqPRpRRy49oQzBcOqYoZvXfLtYGzQxRAWigBO80buXyYh3befd_NYr20OPxWW_v9XL5gRgTkk_ctGNeRoNj0sAW9udR8QEssgAGedhxnJn-7l-wXBoHrnYEU/s1600-h/soccer_for_2010_soccer_world_cup.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347712412032785986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVUY6UMfECPjvjpBgROamqPRpRRy49oQzBcOqYoZvXfLtYGzQxRAWigBO80buXyYh3befd_NYr20OPxWW_v9XL5gRgTkk_ctGNeRoNj0sAW9udR8QEssgAGedhxnJn-7l-wXBoHrnYEU/s400/soccer_for_2010_soccer_world_cup.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 390px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>In post-apartheid SA, mediocrity is celebrated, incompetence rewarded and criminals get cabinet posts.It took Mugabe's regime only eight years to ruin a prosperous country. Wanna bet the ANC can do it faster? South Africa was Africa's last hope to prove a black government could rule a country successfully. Unfortunately that hope has faded away to nothing. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/04/anc-record-rules-out-my-vote.html">ANC record rules out my vote</a> Strange, isn't it, how all the hypocritical leaders immediately flock to Kenya to condemn political violence, but have ignored the cry for help and justice when Mugabe did the same - and is still doing it with impunity. ... <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120302713130669641.html?mod=opinion_main_europe_asia">Dark South Africa</a> has too many failure stories already... <a class="l" href="http://www.soccerblog.com/2008/10/2010_world_cup_afropessimism_r.htm" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','1','&sig2=h0NrAIHJQWXRjY6sCYCvfw')">2010 World Cup: Afro-pessimism rears its head?</a>An old and deep rooted fear was stoked by a SA minister promoting the World Cup at the Beijing Olympics. Dr Essop Pahad, was <a href="http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-10-03-fifa-afropessimism-hits-cup-preparations">recently reported</a> as saying that ‘Even though they are a minority, there are still a lot of whites who don't support Bafana Bafana". In addition, he reportedly stated: "They also don't care that the World Cup is being staged in South Africa'. The first part of the statement can obviously be disputed. The lack of support reflects fans who have been disenchanted with Bafana Bafana's performance for a while. Craig Urquhart <a href="http://mathaba.net/news/?x=609986">points out</a>, "It's no secret that the South African public has, for the most part, fallen out with its team, which inspired the international football community in the early years following their re-admission into the Fifa fold." The abrupt departure of Carlos Alberto Parreira who obviously came for the money and his handpicked replacement Joel Santana, a manager with no national or even substantial club appearance further eroded the teams support. It reached its nadir when the team failed to qualify for the 2010 ACN. The brickbats came from all sides. Both Clive Barker and Jomo Sono, SA's eminence gris <a href="http://www.kickoff.com/static/news/article.php?id=4505">slammed</a> SAFA for the selection of Joel Santana urging indigenous selections. The vice-president of the South African Football Association, chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=872754">warned</a> the country could ill afford to have Bafana Bafana "behave like the rand on world financial markets, or to be a source of amusement in Zapiro cartoons." So the loss of faith comes universally. However it is the second part of Pahad's statement that is problematic. It hearkens to the colonial hangover of <a href="http://science.jrank.org/pages/7475/Afropessimism.html">Afro pessimism</a>, that of a continent too riddled with problems for good governance and economic development. The phenomenon specifies sub-Saharan countries in particular as failed states. SA was never part of this stereotype. But those were in the days of apartheid. Pahad's statement instigates that <a href="http://mhambi.blogspot.com/2008/02/afro-pessimism-is-spiralling-out-of.html">whites maybe disillusioned</a> enough to believe that the phenomenon could become a reality in SA with the ANC in power. So the World Cup is doomed to failure. To counter this perception that whites are secretly rooting for the World Cup to fail, the Human Sciences Research Council conducted a survey to find the attitudes amongst the different groups. They found no difference in the level of support for the World Cup between the different groups but there were differences in perception in what it would achieve. Differences appear in the perception that SA's international profile would rise with the World Cup. Less whites and Indians were sold on this benefit. HSRC does not give a reason for this finding because the differences are less than significant but it is nevertheless worthy of comment. The advent of the ANC has given blacks and coloreds political power at the cost of whites and Indians. The World Cup was awarded by FIFA to showcase the new post-apartheid SA. The blacks feel that they have a responsibility to the world to <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=19&art_id=nw20070306115049735C264192">fulfill that confidence</a>. The one difference that is significant is the benefit from tourism. More whites and Indians believe that having the World Cup would improve that benefit. The service and manufacturing base is owned and staffed by predominantly these two groups. The banking, retail, jewelry and tourism sector is white majority owned. A company like SAB operates pubs, casinos, and hotels. Indians in Durban own family operate hotels, travel agencies, pharmacies, petrol stations, cab companies, provision stores, telecom and clothing stores. The government has started entrepreneurship programs for black businesses but success seems to be mixed and concentrated to the privileged few. SA's preparedness for the World Cup remains more of a concern to whites and they also see less long lasting benefits. Most of the skepticism probably derives from the fact that the high crime rate is more of a issue to this group while infrastructure problems seem to be slowly but steadily getting resolved. The abnormally high rates of murder and rape has led to <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2008/09/white-flight-from-south-africa.html">White flight from South Africa</a>. It appears to be the single <a href="http://journals.worldnomads.com/red24/post/3282.aspx">most contentious issue</a>. Will the security apparatus put in place for the World Cup be enough to control crime? All this pales somewhat in comparison to the <a href="http://features.csmonitor.com/olympics08/2008/08/03/for-chinese-its-the-teflon-olympics/">gung ho reception</a> of the Chinese to their Olympics. Eighty percent of them stated that the Olympics were personally important and ninety six percent believed that they would be a success. Sixty six percent said that the games had improved their country's standing.

2010 World Cup - Afro-pessimism rears its head?

In post-apartheid SA, mediocrity is celebrated, incompetence rewarded and criminals get cabinet posts. It took Mugabe's regime only eigh...

12:03 PM

AIDS girls on World Cup game

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBdsQcnr2WlZocsgTVWfvm1h2YfRLUn-Rjqnc3S3ODeHAiLlmAC6eLhnZvaE6PVULroS0BR1afSfZecvlq1m4Y83eOYJjhwazYA3rFt1jO7g5PF3Fls6tvD1AApLTjIfNjvAVmom5S_o/s1600-h/sex-workers-sa.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344574145556722082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBdsQcnr2WlZocsgTVWfvm1h2YfRLUn-Rjqnc3S3ODeHAiLlmAC6eLhnZvaE6PVULroS0BR1afSfZecvlq1m4Y83eOYJjhwazYA3rFt1jO7g5PF3Fls6tvD1AApLTjIfNjvAVmom5S_o/s400/sex-workers-sa.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 280px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 390px" /></a>PROSTITUTES in South Africa are preparing to cash in on England fans during the 2010 footie World Cup. But HALF the nation’s hookers are infected with HIV or AIDS. A shock investigation by The Sun has revealed girls from poverty-stricken townships are desperate for ENGLAND to qualify and bring their army of fans. Parading on the hard shoulder of the N7 road from Cape Town, they wait for passing trade while dreaming of the boost in business 2010 will bring. Road to ruin ... Levola, Yolanda and Samantha wait for punters The city’s stadium will host group matches and a semi-final. It isn’t finished yet but teenage prostitutes Yolanda, Lavola and Samantha are already dreaming of the extra cash they stand to earn. They save what little they can from their sordid encounters to pay their share of the cost of a convoy of minibuses ready to take the sex show on the road in just one year. If their teams qualify, Brits risk paying the ultimate price for a cheap thrill if they use the desperate women who punctuate the barren landscape either side of all roads to Cape Town. The three girls I spoke to, from shanty town DuNoon, are in high spirits about the approaching footie fest, despite having just been fined for exposing themselves to drivers. They had been flashing their boobs and lifting their skirts to show they were ready for work. Yolanda Lorika, 19, squeals: “We just can’t wait. We only get paid about £10 for sex when drivers stop for us here. English men will pay a lot more. “We’ll probably have to fight over them with the girls who already have pitches in that area, but it will be worth it. “We’re hoping to earn enough to get a decent life.” A decent life is something she knows nothing about. Yolanda and little sister Lavola are homeless. They have been abandoned by their families and repeatedly robbed and raped. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfE_BlGPHzlsKvhaVVQAtSKavt7urJr5kdXvkETTKeZChiZebXG6KGrlKz466pYyo_ogr5z3EZfo1SSQlCuoR9J3oi8Ieq3fmt8QKZn2-L1-DfhyphenhyphenYtTPCHOWtoBcZsbTuOCe88zx7AXmY/s1600-h/soccer_fans_-_FIFA_World_Cup_2006_(03).jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKqUtVsWi6VbOZgUD_9GQsFdnItOYLNPUSI3ls9QwcQKXB7iG2bjfXeRJEHFxIg7_HUlfr1JSyCgq7h4o-brgzsYOS-BL7O8EZBvbgSSDobmfD8yII1nExPqnqnuPhbYQkgG8YGZMqlw/s1600-h/soccer_england_footie3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344584702094050162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKqUtVsWi6VbOZgUD_9GQsFdnItOYLNPUSI3ls9QwcQKXB7iG2bjfXeRJEHFxIg7_HUlfr1JSyCgq7h4o-brgzsYOS-BL7O8EZBvbgSSDobmfD8yII1nExPqnqnuPhbYQkgG8YGZMqlw/s320/soccer_england_footie3.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhit-BASmBr9cP3KhaDUePL9uiS-0HcVE_cIB2ZTMSR9xQv9lN9CR4KsagrKcoe8gDuqehl1swTf7mrHEgh-ZAfbapSRv1W7gU3E6rRsAyQmZkEaHJc8kpO04At0GwsIFGQkeKDWNHTqaE/s1600-h/soccer_england_footie3.jpg"></a>Up for some fun ... English fans? They are fortunate to have a health clinic near their homes and say they are regularly tested for HIV/AIDS. But punters planning to party with girls like these should remember that one in every two prostitutes in South Africa has tested positive. Yolanda describes how she came to be a street walker. She says: “I remember when we lived in the bush, near a farm. My father left us for another woman and we had no money so my mother got desperate. “She took me and my sister to live with our grandparents in a settlement near Cape Town. “I was nine years old when my grandfather raped me. I thought I was being smart when I went out and found a pay phone and called the child abuse line. Looking back, I think maybe I should have kept quiet. “My grandfather was arrested and put in jail. My grandmother threw me and my sister out on to the street with nowhere to go. “We were taken into an orphanage by social workers and for the next few years it was a calm, safe place for us. “But by the time I was 14 I was fed up with all the rules and regulations. I wanted freedom. “Lavola and me left. We slept on the floor in friends’ shacks until they asked us to go. “At the moment we are living with our friend Samantha and her mother. There isn’t really room for us but we all share a bedroom and we are close. Samantha’s mother is very sick with AIDS and we share the work of looking after her. “We don’t have any identity documents, no birth certificates or anything, so we can’t even think about getting jobs. I had a boyfriend who always threatened me. He wanted me to start dealing in drugs and give him the money. He said he would kill me if I left him. “But I’ve seen so many girls led into drugs and sex work, giving all the money to pimps, and I’m not going to do that. “I left him. My sister and our friend Samantha and me now work together on the motorway. “It’s dangerous, and some of the men and women in our settlement curse us, calling us whores. “What’s worse is that the tsotsis (gangs) come after us in the street near our home, telling us we must give them the money we earned. If they catch you they won’t let go until they’ve raped you and robbed you.” All three girls have been raped several times. In DuNoon, where they live, it is the norm. Yolanda longs to be a social worker. She says: “If I can earn some big money when all the World Cup fans arrive that will be my dream. Maybe I could go to a government department and try to get some identity documents, get out of this life.” Her sister Lavola, who looks older than her years in her tight-fitting top and thigh-high denim skirt, is just 16. With Yolande and Sam, Lavola leaves the chaotic settlement of shacks and poor government housing at DuNoon and dodges traffic to take up her place on the hard shoulder each morning. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTyRFMH4z8vOuzAXrMvO9Lj3NLhYXWhv-bwCBgekTg8QLwHaeRyGamPTYgSYw91subdmt0RbULtCKRN1yCnZb5a1xjaOXmd9zH4U2C5vphquWH2GcSy9ihmw2A-X4rTdi_Dxz-KcJCE8/s1600-h/soccer-new-stad-ct.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344579966902096322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTyRFMH4z8vOuzAXrMvO9Lj3NLhYXWhv-bwCBgekTg8QLwHaeRyGamPTYgSYw91subdmt0RbULtCKRN1yCnZb5a1xjaOXmd9zH4U2C5vphquWH2GcSy9ihmw2A-X4rTdi_Dxz-KcJCE8/s400/soccer-new-stad-ct.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 384px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 235px" /></a>The girls manage to stop half a dozen vehicles each day, climb in without a thought for their safety, and receive around £10 a time for sex acts with strangers. The reason for optimism ... Cape Town's new stadium They say they always use condoms, stolen in quantities from the health clinic in DuNoon. “They would give us some for free, but not enough for our work,” said Lavola. They know about HIV/AIDS – they have grown up with it – but it is just an occupational hazard. Samantha, 16 like Lavola, told matter-of-factly how her sick mum had “finished her course of pills”. Samantha says: “My dream is to find a nice man one day, marry him and have babies and a good life. “I would take my sister and brother and my mother out of DuNoon and we would live together somewhere without problems.” The youngster has already had her six-month-old baby, Tania, taken into foster care. She says: “The baby was an accident. My boyfriend at the time had no money and we didn’t know what to do.” Sometimes she visits Tania and, smiling like the child she still is, she tells me: “I like to hold her.” The young absentee mum then explains her background. “My father was lazy and didn’t work. He drank a lot so one day my grandmother came and took me and my mother. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoaiwvSsF_yKXtV2aLDG-1V5joqfI49QYP9v8OiHRujzj6ZsYIVRP3fTqYep_UjQSMk86vIgPhx5W4aIfO6cZbruH0QxtBQPOd1amzy4hXK09Tzxim3-pr3vZso6QM1LZy1Zxy4xsDNs/s1600-h/FiFa_South_Africa_2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344583760033187922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisoaiwvSsF_yKXtV2aLDG-1V5joqfI49QYP9v8OiHRujzj6ZsYIVRP3fTqYep_UjQSMk86vIgPhx5W4aIfO6cZbruH0QxtBQPOd1amzy4hXK09Tzxim3-pr3vZso6QM1LZy1Zxy4xsDNs/s200/FiFa_South_Africa_2010.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 183px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RvWTRqXf7sczBzOC_NNRcM2BFr6TAZCIImYU6hrppTB8X9VrLoSO8fOI84z-B1WVCgDQWJJYwb2DUlyKY8jkhgmsTaZGSOb4zT9mTo0SrmN1r04o-czrXmLhlUgaBH2F1zWnJCg_gtk/s1600-h/FiFa_South_Africa_2010.jpg"></a>“She brought us here but after two months she died. The rest of the family were unkind to us. “I had to get up at 5am every day and fetch water from the river in a bucket, then walk to school. Top event ... South Africa 2010 “As I got older some bad girls I knew said they would take me to a Somalian guy and he would give me money. I said ‘No, I don’t want to do that.’ They found a Nigerian guy instead and he had sex with me in his house and gave me £7. “I realised this was the only way I would ever have any money.” The three girls know they are breaking the law but their poverty, ignorance and desperation prevents them from changing. Prostitution is rife in South Africa. The Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Trust wants the law changed to decriminalise the girls. Spokesman Vivienne Lalu said: “We want to reduce the risk to sex workers, to give them a health regime and police protection from violence. They are at immense risk of HIV and need to have free health checks to protect them and their clients. “Our concern is for the sex workers in a situation where clients will actually pay more for sex without condoms. We want legal rights for all prostitutes.” South African MPs recently discussed the possibility of legalising prostitution for the duration of the 2010 World Cup. No final decision has been taken. For anyone paying to play away in 2010, it could be a deadly mistake. source - <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1018041.ece">http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1018041.ece</a>

AIDS girls on World Cup game

PROSTITUTES in South Africa are preparing to cash in on England fans during the 2010 footie World Cup. But HALF the nation’s hookers are inf...

6:05 AM

Host of problems as World Cup looms

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKOnRO0EmEbcvUxMJPYk1zUIZMG_U5ENiYvCq0Q_MwOIP4_tWE6iDT6UatOTaOuldCjQedeVMo1n0z8sgLTop_RAWb6uZrzmlItuLC7I701LCmBbfSNtU_TjzqqdaURkDY48N9u2_B5Y/s1600-h/cooking-pot.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344377231085966914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKOnRO0EmEbcvUxMJPYk1zUIZMG_U5ENiYvCq0Q_MwOIP4_tWE6iDT6UatOTaOuldCjQedeVMo1n0z8sgLTop_RAWb6uZrzmlItuLC7I701LCmBbfSNtU_TjzqqdaURkDY48N9u2_B5Y/s400/cooking-pot.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a> Apart from crime, stadiums, and transport - it's the "embarrassing" national team that concerns South Africans. The man responsible for organising next year's World Cup in South Africa has become used to answering questions about whether everything will be ready. Standing outside Soccer City, the enormous new stadium in Soweto built to resemble a brown African cooking pot, Danny Jordaan, a slightly portly man in a black blazer, reels off practised lines about stadiums, transport and crime. He is a polished media performer, the perfect front man. Until, that is, we start talking about football and in particular the performance of the host nation. He sighs. A weak smile plays on his lips and he looks away. "Why do you have to ask about my team?" Ever since South Africa was awarded the 2010 World Cup the stream of stories about the lack of preparations has not let up. Stadiums would not be ready, the transport system would not be able to cope, shockingly high crime levels would put off all but the most committed fans from overseas. But another fear has gripped South African football fans: what if the country is ready, but the team is not? On the brink of the biggest moment in South Africa's sporting history, the woeful performance of the national football team threatens to spoil the party. The World Cup-winning Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, brought in on a multimillion-dollar contract, has resigned. The country's star striker, Blackburn's Benni McCarthy, is refusing to play. And for the first time since the end of apartheid, South Africa has failed to qualify for the African Cup of Nations. No host nation has ever failed to reach the second round of the World Cup. The USA managed it in 1994. Both Japan and South Korea did it in 2002 - the Koreans going all the way to the semi-finals. South Africans fear their team could be the worst hosts in history. "It could be really embarrassing," says Robert Marawa, the country's most popular football broadcaster. When South Africa first explored the idea of hosting the World Cup, at the end of the 1990s, the football team was the least of its worries. Bafana Bafana, as the national team is known (it means "the boys, the boys" in Zulu), had returned to the international fold with a bang. While the sight of Nelson Mandela in a Springbok shirt at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final was heralded as the birth of the Rainbow Nation, it was a victory the year after which showed South Africans at their most united. Bafana won the 1996 African Cup of Nations, beating Tunisia 2-0 in the final at the old Soccer City. It seemed as if the 1996 victory would herald a sustained period of success. In 1998, Bafana reached the final of the Nations Cup and qualified for the World Cup for the first time. But it didn't last. The decline has been steady, with each Cup of Nations performance worse than the last. Bafana now stand at 77 in the Fifa rankings.

Host of problems as World Cup looms

Apart from crime, stadiums, and transport - it's the "embarrassing" national team that concerns South Africans. The man respo...

5:22 AM

Chilling threats in wake of this week’s Confed Cup.

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0QYiFbCnEUvxjndYus5mWnqaW5aAwF03-4R2O3bd6tZIZR_6Gb-cy8fVMbvIvF6k4HmId9iQnHJLqZv6bc1AUaAh3CJ8i4qUU2coU5-IjXqMPO1LTS8aOBh3m7rlzH0aU6LugXrqang/s1600-h/transport_black_taxi_cape_town.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344563263995795026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0QYiFbCnEUvxjndYus5mWnqaW5aAwF03-4R2O3bd6tZIZR_6Gb-cy8fVMbvIvF6k4HmId9iQnHJLqZv6bc1AUaAh3CJ8i4qUU2coU5-IjXqMPO1LTS8aOBh3m7rlzH0aU6LugXrqang/s400/transport_black_taxi_cape_town.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px" /></a>'We'll turn Cape town into another Baghdad' Radical elements in the taxi industry have threatened to "kill" if their demands to own and run the new bus rapid transit (BRT) system in its entirety are not met. Speaking before Thursday's meeting between Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele and the government-recognised South African National Taxi Council about the urban bus system, the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) says it is prepared to die for its demands, "and we will kill anyone who gets in our way". "We will turn Cape Town into another Baghdad. We know how and we have the means to do it," Mvuyisi Mente, the spokesperson for the Western Cape branch of the NTA, told Weekend Argus last week. He added that taxi strikes would only form a fraction of the disturbances and demonstrations they were prepared to roll out in protest. "I have thousands of soldiers in my ranks who are prepared to die for this. We are serious about this. You know it and we know it." Their chilling threats came hot on the heels of President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation address on Wednesday when he said that the stalled BRT project was now back on the government's agenda and would recommence with this week's meeting which is expected to pave the way for broader negotiations between the Department of Transport and the taxi industry over the coming months. The BRT project, which is scheduled to commence in Joburg in September before extending to Cape Town, will eventually be rolled out in other cities around the country, and will replace minibus taxis with buses that will operate on dedicated lanes to alleviate traffic and congestion in urban South Africa. Though the government's intention is to allow the owners of the taxi industry to part-own and operate certain sections of the proposed system, some taxi owners say they will settle for nothing short of 100 percent ownership and operation. "Why should we take 50 percent or 60 percent ownership, or whatever they are offering us, when we already have 100 percent?" asked NTA national secretary Alpheus Mlalazi. However, other sections of the industry have had the foresight to see that growing congestion on the city's roads compounded by the expected peak in the global oil supply in coming years will eventually force an end to the 16-seater commuter taxis anyway and they have begun to co-operate with the government on the BRT. How Ndebele will bring the various factions of the taxi industry on board remains to be seen. Yet just how serious the more radical elements of the industry are about their threats is something he will not want to test.

Chilling threats in wake of this week’s Confed Cup.

'We'll turn Cape town into another Baghdad' Radical elements in the taxi industry have threatened to "kill" if their d...

4:53 AM

South Africa P.I.G.