I Could Not Have Said It Better

I am reading a book called Margin by Richard Swenson. Here is his take on modern society and what we need to do....

"We once again assert that jobs are only jobs, that cars are only organized piles of metal, that houses will one day fall down but people are important beyond description."

Yep, that's it......

The Other Side of the World Cup

The World Cup is one of the biggest events in the world and it is being held in South Africa this year. While I hope this helps the South African economy, the darker side of this event or any event like it is inevitably going to come out.

While the vuvuzelas blow and they can be annoying, it might be a better use of vuvuzela outrage to use this as a platform to fight child sex trafficking.

While this practice is common throughout the world, South Africa has not enacted a pending law that is stuck in limbo. A bill to ban sex trafficking has been on the books but has not been made into law. The anti-trafficking bill has been waiting for approval for 5 years. It is high time to get that passed and a viable law that can be enforced. (The attached article tells of what is happening around the World Cup but things like this happen all over the world and not just at an event. )

I hope the proposed legislation becomes law and helps South Africa be able to prosecute those who foster this kind of slavery, especially on young women.

The next time you hear a vuvuzela blow, turn that into a call for action....

Quarter Pounder Anyone?

It is now reported that because of drought and Mugabe's land programs, Zimbabwe can only produce 1/4 of what it needs to feed its population. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091001/wl_africa_afp/zimbabwefoodagriculturefao_20091001165859)

Is there any wonder there are problems in Zimbabwe. Can you imagine what it would be like if you had only 1/4 of what you needed to eat?

Life would be very different....Mugabe needs to give up his personal fortune to feed his people who he is supposed to be serving.

Malaria still kills 1 million per year in Africa

I know it has been a long time.....to quote the fount of wisdom known as Eric B and Rakim.....

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you/Without a strong rhyme to step to
Think of how many weak shows you slept through/Time's up, I'm sorry I kept you

I have written about malaria early on in this blog but it has come up again. It looks 3 billion dollars and a new organization called the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (see article here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090923/ap_on_re_us/un_africa_malaria_1) intend to eradicate malaria in Africa by 2015.

I encourage everyone also to give to Nothing But Nets (http://www.nothingbutnets.net/) which is also helping to fight the malaria problem in Africa.

This problem is easily solved in theory but difficult to do in reality. We have had the cure for many moons but getting it out to the impoverished areas of Africa is difficult...along with some leaders who stop care from going to people in need. I am thankful that African leaders are banding together to fight this...let's see if they can get Mugabe to actually help his people.

If that happens, I would be VERY happy....

It's about Africa kids.....

Unemployment in South Africa

I visited South Africa a few years ago and had the privilege of meeting many young people that were searching for jobs. They all had graduated and had skills that an employer could use. The only problem was that there were no jobs for them to apply to.

The article says the unemployment rate has jumped up 1.5% in the last few months to 23.5% with a loss of over 200,000 jobs. I think this rate is low. I would have estimated more like 35-40% from the people I met in Durban.

President-elect Jacob Zuma says he will work with businesses to create jobs. How exactly will he do that? That is a nice campaign promise but I have no idea how you will accomplish this in Africa right now.

And, for that matter, in the U.S. right now either.....

Even Elephants Know What Is Going On

According a report out of Zambia, a good number of elephants have crossed the Zambezi river to live in Zambia rather than Zimbabwe. I think we can read between the lines and surmise the elephants found Zimbabwe unlivable.

But of course, Mugabe blames western intervention for the problems Zimbabwe is experiencing.

It is amazing that elephants are smarter than Mugabe....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/5233991/Elephants-abandon-troubled-Zimbabwe.html

It's a little too soon

One of the things that I think has made our society go crazy is the pace that we live at. It is always hurry this, go there really fast and there is NO margin for error.

Today I saw a poll asking the public about how did President Obama do in his first 30 days. 30 days. You have got to be kidding.....no one other than God himself could do anything for this economy in 30 days.

We all need to slow down....the problems didn't happen overnight and won't go away overnight. Give the man a chance to show what he can do without analyzing every little move without a good sample to judge from. A year or two from now, we would have enough of sample to start making some decisions. But not now....

Here's hoping you have a slow, wonderful night!