The Casual Observer

Another example of Eskom’s lack of Maintenance

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 20 January 2015 0 Comment

What most consumers of electricity in South Africa are unaware of is that with an installed capacity of 43 000MW, only 32 000MW is available. Of this 10 000MW the majority is not available due to unplanned maintenance; that is breakdowns.

While the newly appointed CEO at Eskom, Tshediso Matona, was last week performing a classic mea culpa by conceding that Eskom’s woes were self-inflicted, Jacob Zuma was telling the denizens of the Western Cape that Apartheid was culpable for the current crisis. On one point Mr Matona was adamant: Eskom had breached the golden rule of plant maintenance in that it had deferred planned maintenance due to political pressure. Examples cited were the World Cup and the 2014 Elections.

Finally a Good News Holocaust Story

Not that Holocaust stories are ever gay, light-hearted uplifting affairs as in most cases almost all of the survivor’s family after never seen again but this one has a surprising twist in the tail. Instead these stories all have a sense of dreaded inevitability as families are split up either to face an immediate death or a slow agonising demise by overwork, starvation and all the attendant privations.

Over the years I have read numerous books and stories on the holocaust. Most are heart-wrenching stories of privation and abominable living and working conditions. None of these survivor’s stories relate to Jews from Germany itself. This was not due to the fact that none of them decided to write about their horrendous life stories but rather that being first into these concentration camps, they were the first to die. As the life expectancy was no more than 3 months on average, by 1943 very few were still alive.

Main picture: Herman Rosenblat

South Africa: How about some really cheap electricity?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 17 January 2015 0 Comment

Being South Africa, I am not referring to some less expensive method of actually generating electricity but due to the inventive ways that South Africans have found to bypass the system. The impact of this sharp practice will place more pressure on the paying consumer in two ways: additional price rises and unregulated peak demand of up to 1500MW.

According to Chris Yelland, a director of EE Publisher, an electricity expert and a frequent guest on 702 Talk Radio, About 32% of all electricity delivered by City Power Johannesburg is lost to theft and non-payment.

Is there a Hint of Hypocrisy over the Charlie Hebdo Massacre?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 16 January 2015 0 Comment

Before I continue let me make my stance abundantly clear. This atrocious act can only be classified as despicable without any mitigating factors. Nothing people say even if it is profane or blasphemous can EVER justify the taking of another person’s life. Given that most religions’ mantra is that their religion is one of peace, understanding and respect for human rights makes it even more abhorrent and indefensible.

Surely if Islam was a religion of peace then senior members of the faith would gather their members and condemn this action in no uncertain and forthright terms. Instead one hears of isolated incidents of condemnation. What is required as an alternative is for the Muslims to unequivocally rebuke fellow Muslims who perform such heinous crimes.

Main picture: Charlie Hebdo is an equal opportunity blasphemor as all religions are rebuked by this satirical magazine

Mamparas for the week ended 11th January 2015

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, SA Heroes and Mamparas 12 January 2015 1 Comment

The Al-Qaeda Islamic militants in Paris might have been the recipients of the award for the most centimetres of newspaper space across the globe devoted to their dastardy deeds this week, but Boko Haram – meaning literally Western Education is Forbidden – indisputably won the prize for the Mamparas of the week.

An explosive vest was strapped to the body of a 10 year old girl who was then sent to saunter through a crowded market in Gambaru, Nigeria. It is not certain whether this girl herself set off the explosives or whether they were linked to a Cellphone so that her leader could set it off at the appropriate time. Whatever it was, the result was 16 deaths.

Classifying this terrorist group as Mamparas is not harsh enough. They are worse than cold-blooded killers as the use of impressionable callow youngsters is despicable.

Main picture: Attack by Boko Haram

Breathtaking Photographs

By Dean McCleland in Animals 11 January 2015 0 Comment

For me nature is not only wonderful to view but captivating. Here is another series of breathtaking photographs on nature.

Isandlwana: Did Inane Bureaucracy Defeat the British?

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 9 January 2015 1 Comment

Isandlwana is synonymous with the greatest defeat of British forces by a native army; that is, one only armed with spears and shields. The only way in which defeat is possible in such situations is by employing such overwhelming forces that the sustained rate of fire from the defenders’ guns cannot kill or wound sufficient of the indigenous forces thereby resulting in defeat. So how was that possible at Isandlwana?

Bureaucracy and discipline is what makes any organisation effective. Without it, nothing works. The men cannot be fed or ammunition will not be ordered. This applies to a myriad of other seemingly mundane aspects in any organisation which ultimately makes the army such a potent force.

Stunning Historical Photographs

By Dean McCleland in Historical 7 January 2015 3 Comments

As the pithy maxim states, “A picture paints a thousand words.” That is so true. It is not just the primary action or object which is being highlighted, but a whole array of other aspects. These embody the clothes being worn, the vehicles being driven and even the advertisements being displayed.

Each of these photographs in itself is a gem. Despite being an eclectic mix, each one evokes the ethos of a bygone, long forgotten era.

Is the Current Nostalgia for Mao Zedong Mass Delusion?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 6 January 2015 0 Comment

Forty years after his death in 1976, Mao Zedong, the embodiment of evil, is revered as the father of modern China. How is it possible that the greatest mass murderer of the Chinese themselves attained such a cachet? Do the Chinese suffer from an apparent mass delusion that Mao himself created the current vibrant capitalist economy when Mao in reality would have been virulently opposed to its current non-socialist modus operandi?

China is currently experiencing an unprecedented revival of the Maoist Personality Cult almost four decades after his death. Shrines and gargantuan monuments are being constructed in his honour. Devotees will spend their weekend travelling to these places of worship in the latest luxury vehicles to lay wreaths or to have their photographs taken with the latest high-tech equipment exemplifying modernity.

Attitude Maketh a Man

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Inspirational 4 January 2015 0 Comment

Of course manners do too, and so do a multitude of other attributes such as behaviour and vanity. We could make a case for any one of them being equally important but I contend that despite their being important, attitude occupies the number one position.

Why would I assert that attitude is the numero uno attribute which determines one’s future? We have all worked or dealt with “difficult” people, people who take umbrage at whatever one says or does that is contrary to their world view. Of course they may well be correct about certain aspects of life due to their perspicacity but definitely not about everything.