Marikana

[Sibboleth]

In case no one's heard there's something of a political crisis in South Africa at the moment.

BBC article on today's developments here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19305698

Anyways, what's going on is going on because thirty four (regrettably your eyesight is fine) miners at the Marikana platinum mine in North West Province were murdered by police on Thursday during a messy industrial dispute that had already been characterised by an unusual level of violence and death. All kinds of issues have been raised by what's happened, including a lot of internal ANC stuff; one factor in the violent nature of the dispute (though not the massacre) has been conflict between the established miners union (which is very much part of the ANC power structure) and a militant breakaway union.

[London Man]

I thought this sort of thing went out with PW Botha...

When a bunch of people charge at you with machetes and clubs, you're going to have to do something, but this should never have gotten to that stage in the first place.

[dead0man]

First the ongoing Farm Murders, now this.  Ugg, S.Africa is turning into a pile of sh**t.

[London Man]

It's not been the nicest place for almost 70 years now.

[Ghyl Tarvoke]

First the ongoing Farm Murders, now this.  Ugg, S.Africa is turning into a pile of sh**t.

"Turning into"?

[Sibboleth]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19424484

...

...

...

[Vosem]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19424484

What. The. Fuçk. Is. This. sh**t.

[Insula Dei]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19424484

What. The. Fuçk. Is. This. sh**t.

It is a fossile from Apartheid in South Africa's legal system.

Surely this is hurting the ANC, and surely this is especially hurting Zuma's image?

[Yelnoc]

Here is an interesting article from Al Jazeera which attempts to put this conflict in South Africa into a wider regional context.

[後援会]

Surely this is hurting the ANC, and surely this is especially hurting Zuma's image?

Does it matter? The ANC can't lose elections.

[Insula Dei]

Surely this is hurting the ANC, and surely this is especially hurting Zuma's image?

Does it matter? The ANC can't lose elections.

Zuma can lose a leadership election. For starters.

[後援会]

Surely this is hurting the ANC, and surely this is especially hurting Zuma's image?

Does it matter? The ANC can't lose elections.

Zuma can lose a leadership election. For starters.

True, but the cronyism, kleptocracy, corruption, incompetence, and crassness will continue. Zuma is just a symptom of the ailment.

[Sibboleth]

The ANC can't lose elections.

Not to the opposition anyway.

[Vosem]

Surely this is hurting the ANC, and surely this is especially hurting Zuma's image?

Does it matter? The ANC can't lose elections.

Neither could Mapai...until they did.

Now, the ANC is not approaching a 1977-event at the next general election, or the one after that, but when it's the 2020s and they're corrupt and they've been in power for 30 years and (probably, by then) significant black non-regionalist groups have managed to build up significant followings? They'll be screwed.

[後援会]

Surely this is hurting the ANC, and surely this is especially hurting Zuma's image?

Does it matter? The ANC can't lose elections.

Neither could Mapai...until they did.

Now, the ANC is not approaching a 1977-event at the next general election, or the one after that, but when it's the 2020s and they're corrupt and they've been in power for 30 years and (probably, by then) significant black non-regionalist groups have managed to build up significant followings? They'll be screwed.

See, that's what I thought once. Especially after that CORE thing. CORE was terrible too, but I had suspected that a party split would weaken the ANC % of the vote. It did not.

The Democratic Alliance is actually a pretty good opposition party. After all, I'm pretty sure almost every single person on this forum would vote for the DA if they lived in South Africa.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

     It seems as if South Africa really hasn't changed since the end of Apartheid (other than the obvious change of not having Apartheid).

[Peter the Lefty]

Surely this is hurting the ANC, and surely this is especially hurting Zuma's image?

Does it matter? The ANC can't lose elections.

Neither could Mapai...until they did.

Now, the ANC is not approaching a 1977-event at the next general election, or the one after that, but when it's the 2020s and they're corrupt and they've been in power for 30 years and (probably, by then) significant black non-regionalist groups have managed to build up significant followings? They'll be screwed.

See, that's what I thought once. Especially after that CORE thing. CORE was terrible too, but I had suspected that a party split would weaken the ANC % of the vote. It did not.

The Democratic Alliance is actually a pretty good opposition party. After all, I'm pretty sure almost every single person on this forum would vote for the DA if they lived in South Africa.

Meh.  If it were between them and the ANC, I would.  I'd prefer the UDM, even though they're just as hopeless. 

[Sibboleth]

The Democratic Alliance is actually a pretty good opposition party.

And the fact that you think that is one reason (or, rather, indicative of) why they will never win an election, at least not in their present form.

[The Mikado]

After all, I'm pretty sure almost every single person on this forum would vote for the DA if they lived in South Africa.

This might well be true.  However, almost every single person on this forum is not black.

[Senator Kalwejt]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19424484

Good job with the transition...

[後援会]

After all, I'm pretty sure almost every single person on this forum would vote for the DA if they lived in South Africa.

This might well be true.  However, almost every single person on this forum is not black.

Which is why there really isn't much the DA can do. The ANC still has at least a generation of do-anything-we-want-and-we'll-still-win. At the very least.

[Emperor Dubya]

So the usual standards we have come to expect from the ANC.