Boycott FIFA
Ever since the first “2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Special Measures Act”, no. 11 of 2006 was passed, and FIFA began calling for volunteers for the Confederations Cup rather than employing people like civilised companies do, the whole World Cup thing has left a sour taste in my mouth. It’s annoying to watch your government hijacked, and your country and its people exploited, by people who think they’re too good for the rules by which the rest of us play.
So here’s an idea: Boycott FIFA.
It’s not surprising, large-scale sporting events have been used as government vanity projects for eons. It’s just that, in this day in age, the interests of self-serving bureaucrats and their corporatist pals merge together effortlessly in the name of patriotism and other bunk.
Not related to your post, Ivo, but…
Can you still contribute to the ThoughtLeader.co.za blog or does your writing for Maverick and others preclude this? Does ThoughtLeader expect your work to be original and provided for free?
Second, I’d gladly comment on the Maverick site but I note that it is beta and I’m having some trouble with the layout and registering to comment seems a bit silly. Also, comments aren’t available on all their posts. There’s one in particular about gun control in SA that I’d love to give my 2 cents on…
@Hard Rain: I couldn’t post my columns to the M&G’s Thought Leader, no. Not only is it a competing publication, but since The Daily Maverick pays for my columns, and M&G doesn’t, my loyalty is clear.
I wasn’t aware that any articles on The Daily Maverick are published without the ability to comment. If true, I suspect it’s a bug, in fact.
Registering is a choice on the part of the publishers, in order to encourage proper debate and real names, in stead of the anonymous noise which some other publishers permit. There’s no editorial approval involved. Once registered, the login procedure is quick and painless, involving just a little pop-up window (although I wish they’d remember you…).
I’d really prefer comments to happen on The Daily Maverick’s site, since they deserve to profit from copy they pay for.
Okay, I’ve checked back there and I guess it was a bug. Comments appear on the article I mentioned and I’ve been able to register. Crisis averted!
My comment name is Jerry Abrams. I’ll try send some international traffic Maverick’s way via Mises.org ;)