How Serious is the ANC About Government for the Good of the People?

This question surely underlies so many discussions and criticisms regarding the ANC's tenure as South Africa's ruling party and government.

Surely if the ANC was serious about government for the good of the people then a lot of things would be a lot better. For example, our education department would be serving our children by ensuring our tax money was put to good use and that good governance principles, checks and balances and accountability would permeate the department. Clearly this is not the case.

The protracted chaotic state of affairs in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is further evidence that the ANC is not really concerned with government for the good of the people. It is only now that the ANC looks to be at risk of losing the municipality to the DA in the forthcoming local government elections that the central ANC has intervened. It actually looks as though the ANC, in it's arrogance, wasn't even prepared to make any intervention in the light of the parlous state of the municipality. 

That is until the DA students union won the Fort Hare SRC election. After all that has gone wrong this finally seems to have caught the attention of the ANC NEC knobs.

They decided they needed to get seriously serious about doing something serious.

So what do they do? To show how seriously serious they are about sorting the serious problems down there.

They put in a part-time mayor.

With all the kak that is going on and how seriously bad they suddenly realise things are they put in a frigging part-time mayor to solve everything!

Danny Jordaan is president of SAFA. He assures us that his responsibilities at SAFA won't interfere with his ability to resolve the pressing issues in Nelson Mandela Bay. Maybe that helps us understand why SAFA is such a stuff up. Clearly Danny's view is that his responsibilities at SAFA are so lightweight that he can successfully moonlight as mayor of one of our biggest and most troubled municipalities.

I would have thought that if the new mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality was serious about his responsibility to resolve the pressing issues he would be expecting twelve to sixteen hour days dedicated to Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality for a protracted period of time.

Naaaaah, says Danny. Naaaaah, says the ANC.

Good governance for the good of the people?

Naaaaah, says the ANC.

Feather Angle

I have a track record of being something of a maverick in my views. I am very much a "who says ...?" kind of person. I have long advocated that beginner paddlers should start paddling with unfeathered paddles. My view has been pooh-pooh'ed by many of the local mouths including those in the canoeing industry - with only one exception who was prepared to listen to the logic - kudos Stan.

I started paddling when paddles were feathered at 90 degrees. That was it. I felt that feather angles required too much 'wrist language' to consistently get the proper blade angle in the water, especially in rough water paddling. In those days many of us made our own paddles. So I started experimenting with feather angles, starting with my wild water racing paddle. I ended up with using around a 45 degree feather angle. Really radical for those days but I wasn't ready to challenge the root orthodoxy of feathered paddles.

Life happened and I hardly paddled for years. I came back to paddling considerably older with older joints and a mind more willing challenge orthodoxy. I bought a new paddle with the then accepted feather of around 70 degrees. I chafed at the need to make the big feather flick turn and I started experimenting with feather angles again. This time I was prepared to push the experimentation further and I had become a keen observer of paddling technique. And so I started paddling with no feather. Around ten years later and I am still paddling with unfeathered paddles. And the mouths have a lot to say. Only none of them have been able to give a persuasive reason for forcing beginners to paddle with feathered paddles.

So why do they persist and why do emotions rise when the orthodoxy is questioned or challenged?

Read this article for some thoughts on why people persist with often patently dumb things.

So today, with some slack time on my hands at work, I was trolling the web, idly following a paddling train of thought and looking at the track records of paddlers when I branched into wing paddles and came upon this article by Greg Barton. For those of you don't know Greg Barton is a multiple Olympic and world championship kayak sprint gold medalist and owner of Epic Kayaks one of the world's major paddle manufacturers.

Here is a direct quote from Greg's article:

To feather or not to feather? There are many people with strong feelings on both sides of this subject. The following are reasons why you may want to consider using an unfeathered paddle.

   For beginners, it is easier to learn with an unfeathered paddle.

   Unfeathered paddles do not require wrist rotation and put less strain on the wrist.

   Unfeathered paddles do not "dive" or "fly up" in the wind.

   While an unfeathered paddle is initially easier to use, most people can quickly adapt to a feathered paddle.

He must be a pretty smart guy as he is saying exactly what I have been saying for years.

So, if you're using feathered paddles, especially if you're a recreational, novice or intermediate paddler, it's probably a good idea to get an adjuster for your paddle shaft and start playing with your feather angle. And for anyone introducing a newcomer to paddling please make sure they start with an unfeathered paddle.

Democratic Tyranny

The Government of the absolute majority instead of the Government of the people is but the Government of the strongest interests; and when not efficiently checked, it is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised.
~ John C. Calhoun ~

Linux Community vs. Canonical

In polite terms there is an intense discussion going on between many people in the wider Linux community and Canonical and hence Ubuntu.

On the one hand many members of the community are claiming that Canonical is acting against the ethos of the FOSS community while Canonical claims to be making vital progress in ensuring widespread acceptance and thus continued viability of Linux.

I have long maintained that for any FOSS 'product' to be viable in the general market there has to be a sustainable underlying business model.

I admire hugely the volunteerism that is the lifeblood of the FOSS movement. Personal satisfaction in doing good and innovative work doesn't pay the rent, buy food or send kids to school. Every volunteer gets to a point, no matter how passionate and dedicated they are to whatever FOSS activity they are involved in, where they have to make some kind of living. If that living is not directly related their FOSS activity they have to deal with a conflict of interest.

The surest way to resolve that conflict of interest is to create a sustainable business around the FOSS activity. Which is exactly what Mark Shuttleworth has been doing with Canonical.

I think one of the major factors in the conflict with Canonical is a misplaced puritanical culture that wants to keep FOSS as some kind of underground movement where it is evil to make a living from FOSS activities. Does Linus live on thin air? Certainly not. He would not be able to continue his role without revenue streams. I can guarantee you that his income is mostly if not totally related to FOSS activities. Does that make him evil and unacceptable to the FOSS community?

Another factor is potentially ego or pride because a particular FOSS piece is not used in Ubuntu, for example GNOME. I think that some people who are heavily invested in GNOME find it hard to accept that GNOME is not used. Don't attack Canonical; look at the pros and cons of GNOME vs. UNITY especially in consideration of the market where Ubuntu is gaining acceptance. Canonical made a business decision and like any business have to live with the consequences of the decision. Considering the growing penetration of Ubuntu the decision can't be all bad.

My bottom line point is that Canonical looks like being sucessful at the absolutley essential challenge of building a sustainable business model that does not compromise the principles of FOSS. Kudos to them.

Alvin Lee and Big Red

I was 15 years old when the movie "Woodstock" came to South Africa. There was something in me yearning for something I just wasn't hearing in the popular music that was on the radio of that time. Here and there I heard bits that tugged at my innards.

Then I went to see Woodstock ... my ears nearly popped out of my head when Alvin Lee and Ten Years After played I'm Goin Home.

He has remained one of my favourite players. His Big Red 335 became an iconic instrument for me. I love the Gibbo 335 sound and have an Ibanez repro of a 335. Ever since then I have had a semi-acoustic heart.

I was saddened to hear that Alvin Lee died two days ago, apparently from complications after a routine surgical procedure.

Another great goes to the great stage in the sky. We're gonna miss you Alvin.

Click here to see that Woodstock performance.

Go, Angie, Go

Now here is a bit of good news.

The basic education department has assured parliament that the delay (that they assured us never was) in getting textbooks to all Limpopo schools will be resolved by this Friday.

You go, Angie, go. (Read that however you please.)

Take Heed All Who Would Rule or Govern

The object of government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers or of races, but the happiness of the common man.

 ~ William Beveridge ~