World Cup Preview (Part 2): The South African World Cup Already a Failure

Is it wrong to call the World Cup in South Africa - an event hasn't even started yet - a failure? No.

It is not. We are told by Time magazine's Managing Editor Richard Stengel that Nelson Mandela is the most important person and greatest human on the planet (in that magazine's World Cup preview issue). Stengel wrote a book called Mandela's Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage, which serves as primer for the uninitiated in learning of the greatness of Nelson Mandela, a God among insects.

No man on the planet - according to Stengel - is as benevolent, magnanimous, genteel, gracious, refined and worldly as Mandela. He is not just a treasure to the multiracial nation he gave birth to, but a treasure to the world.

He brought Democracy to South Africa - Black rule to a nation founded and sustained by white people - in 1994 and with this, he helped usher in an epoch of unprecedented crime, murder and mayhem in his beloved homeland.

Well Mr. Stengel, the most important and greatest representative of human decency is also the man who presided over the complete ruination of an entire nation and is directly responsible for the hundreds of thousands of lives (both Black and white) lost in South Africa since that nation had the glories of "Democracy" forced upon it by Disingenuous White Liberals from around the world.

It will be remembered that a white liberal forced the World Cup on South Africa, the only nation in Africa capable of hosting such an event and sadly, completely incapable of ensuring the safety of its own citizens (not to mention World Cup fans) without the institution of massive safe-guards:

The phone rings endlessly in Kyle Condon's office. As the World Cup nears, tourists and foreign businessmen spooked by South Africa's crime rate are calling him to hire bodyguards.

"We have brought in 45 contractors who are being assigned to different projects, but we might have to recruit more," said Condon, who runs D&K Management Consultants.

"We have increased our revenues and our turnover by about three-fold" thanks to the World Cup, he said.

His clients are spending R2 000 to R4 000 a day, depending on their level of risk, to be accompanied by a man or a woman carrying a nine-millimetre firearm.

Many of the bodyguards are former soldiers or police officers. They're trained in marksmanship, emergency driving, first-aid, and fastidious planning.

"It's not about jumping in front of bullets. That's for movies with Kevin Costner," Condon said. "What we do: we plan your life for you during your stay. We are a kind of personal assistant."

His clients, all well-heeled but from varying backgrounds, know that South Africa has one of the world's highest crime rates, with an average of 50 killings a day.

They call Condon for "peace of mind and convenience", he said.

Fear of crime isn't limited to foreigners. Private security services are a mushrooming business in South Africa, posting 13% annual growth since the end of apartheid in 1994.

The 6 400 security firms accredited by the government have a collective turnover of R14-billion ($1,9-billion). That jumps to R40-billion when makers of electric fences, video surveillance and other services are included.

"Crime in South Africa generally increased from 1994 to 2003-2004," said Gareth Newham, a researcher with the Institute for Security Studies.

Crimes that cause fear
"Since then crime has dropped by 24% globally, but certain categories of crime have increased like house robberies, business robberies and car hijacking, and those crimes cause a lot of fear."

Security companies "use an existing fear to sell their products".

"People are scared. If they can afford it, they will," he said.

As a result, many upmarket neighbourhoods resemble bunkers.

Houses are surrounded by tall walls topped with electric fences.

Some streets have checkpoints and many are patrolled by private security firms.

South Africa has 375 000 private security guards, and 180 000 police officers.

Behind the walls, gardens have motion detectors linked to alarm systems and illuminated by spotlights. Windows have metal bars, and doors have multiple locks.

Inside, "panic buttons" let owners alert the security firm to a break-in, while metal gates lock off bedrooms from the rest of the house. Big dogs and hidden safes are also common.

Poorer neighbourhoods use barbed wire, broken bottles and nets on windows to keep intruders out.

"Everyone wants to protect themselves. People have guns, knives, batons," said Junior Yele, an official at Boa security services, which has won about 20 bodyguard contracts.

But he says there's a much cheaper solution to avoid criminals.

"The main advice in South Africa is don't show that you have money, don't attract attention."

Yes. To ensure the safety of World Cup fans, billions have been spent in the nation that owes its happy existence to the greatest man on the planet, Nelson Mandela.

The police presence will be immense in South Africa. The mere admission of this fact illustrates the complete failure of South Africa and Democracy under Mandela (and after him), and with the World Cup mired in such great fears of wanton criminality suppressed with an unprecedented level of international police force helps us understand the mighty contributions of the world's most important citizen:

JOHANNESBURG – The array of statistics South African officials have been touting in the lead up to the start of the World Cup on June 11 has certainly been impressive.

Fifty-five thousand new police officers, $88 million in new police equipment, the largest deployment of Interpol officers in the organization's history and up to eight police officers from each of the 31 visiting teams in country to assist in crime prevention.

Yet, despite the heavy investment in South Africa's defense infrastructure, this cup-crazed country has found itself facing fresh criticism over its security preparations on the eve of the big event.

South Africans were hit with a bombshell when a Johannesburg paper article reported that members of the U.S. Congress had been briefed on credible threats of attacks being planned by terrorist groups like al-Qaida and the Somalia based, al-Shahaab.

The report said that operatives from militant organizations had trained in terror camps in northern Mozambique may have already infiltrated South Africa and were poised to strike World Cup matches and events.

South Africa's top security officials were quick to dismiss the claims of a terrorist threat and expressed confidence in the revamped security force being rolled out.

Domestic crime
Whether the new revelations are enough to sway travelers to abandon their World Cup plans remains to be seen. But it is just another blemish on South Africa's desperate bid to change the perception of the country as a rough and tumble place unsafe for such a massive global event.

Recent statistics demonstrate that public perception is not far from the truth.

Statistics released by the South African Police Service showed that between April 2008 and March 2009, this country of 48 million million people had 18,148 murders and 70,514 sexual crimes. By comparison, the United States, with a population of 300 million, had 14,180 murders and 89,000 sexual crimes in 2008.

That means almost 50 murders are committed each day in South Africa. Yet, in the most recent State of the Union address by President Jacob Zuma in February, crime was only mentioned three times in his speech and no concrete prevention strategy was mentioned, much to the frustration of many South Africans.

The widespread perception of how commonplace violent crime is here may be far more damaging to the 2010 World Cup then any terrorist threat. People who live here are so used to the ubiquitous crime that they speak of it as something that can’t be avoided, only confronted.

At a popular watering hole in Johannesburg's suburb of Melville over the weekend, long-time patrons watched highlights of last week's South Africa vs. Columbia friendly match and offered player profiles over the dull groan of thousands of horns from the TV.

When discussion shifted inevitably to the front page news of the day about terrorist threats, opinions divided sharply over the veracity of those reports. However, all were quick to drive discussion away from terrorist threats to everyday crime. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 55,000 additional police quickly became the butt of many complaints.

"Fifty-five thousand new police and I still get nervous if I have to walk home alone late at night" moaned one area resident working on a World Cup project. Another long time resident wondered aloud “Fifty-five thousand, but where are they?”

Indeed, driving extensively through the famously poor area of Soweto and Soccer City – the site of one of the beautiful new stadiums South Africa has erected for the World Cup – it is difficult to sense any significant police presence, a sentiment confirmed by longtime residents of Johannesburg.

Yet, despite the pervasiveness of crime here and the looming threat of terrorist threat, it seemed that night nobody at the bar was deterred from their belief that this World Cup was going to be the biggest, most successful party in African history.

Here’s to that dream coming true.

Stengel's subject of immense, intense and insufferably hagiographical words written in praise of Mr. Mandela seem astonishing to anyone presented with the enormity of the situation South Africa is faced with currently.

Only in the world of the Disingenuous White Liberal could a nation beset with unparalleled criminality have its progenitor be honored with the title of "world's greatest living person."

And that is what Time called Mandela - "the greatest man on earth".

A nation where hundreds of thousands - if not millions - have cried out in vain while their humanity and life is extirpated in the blink of an eye through unchecked criminality have one man to blame - Nelson Mandela.

The legacy of South Africa is his alone. The billions spent on security for the 2010 World Cup shines a bright light on the failure of Black rule, Democracy and the greatest man on earth, Nelson Mandela.

Regardless of what happens in South Africa starting June 11th, the 2010 World Cup has been a monumental failure. Every private citizen visiting that nation accompanied by a private security force is testament to this fact, as is the billions spent on enhancing the police-state infrastructure to give off the impression of momentary stability in Mandela's South Africa:

The national government spent 34 billion rand on preparations, while the 10 provincial administrations and nine host cities contributed more than 9 billion rand.

About 44,000 police officers have been assigned to protect teams and fans during the competition. More than 5,700 incidents of serious crime are reported in South Africa each day, including 50 homicides, one of the highest rates in the world.

Of course, the shockingly high amount of money FIFA took out in insurance to protect the investment of the World Cup in South Africa is but another melancholy reminder of why this event is already a failure:

The Fédération Internationale de Football Assn. is protecting its investment with $650 million in coverage to protect against postponement or relocation of the event, which runs June 11 through July 11. The bulk of the coverage, which will remain in place for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, is reinsured by Swiss Reinsurance Co. and Munich Reinsurance Co.

FIFA did not purchase insurance to cover cancellation of the World Cup. The organization chose not to cover that risk because “even if the event is delayed for any reason, it is extremely unlikely that it would be called off,” a spokesman said in an e-mail.

Insurance and security in South Africa will be in place for 64 matches played in nine cities during the monthlong World Cup centered in Johannesburg. Estimates of the number of visitors have ranged as high as 450,000 to watch the games.

As is the despondent amount of tickets not sold for the event.

Stuff Black People Don't Like declares the 2010 World Cup in South Africa a disaster before the first official contest of "the beautiful game" is played. There is still time to move the event.

Do it. Or risk the complete detonation of Black Run America in the process of South Africa's televised debacle.

For the ranks of those who can see grow by the day. Why broadcast the state of a formerly white run country (and white founded) besieged by a visibly Black majority that comprise the leadership of its current government?

People in America know why Detroit is in ruins. Now, the entire world will be witness to what South Africa has become. The common denominator of both of those places? Populated by 90 percent or more Black people.

This World Cup is the true legacy of Mandela and we hope he is healthy enough to view the events in their entirety.

There is still time to move the games, for remember the ESPN tag line of the 2010 World Cup: One game changes everything.

One game will showcase Mandela's true legacy in ways no amount of fawning prose - basically written Felatio - courtesy of Time's Richard Stengel could counteract.

The USA Today reports simply this:

While South Africa's murder rate has declined since 2004, it is eight times higher than that of the USA. In Gauteng, a province that's home to 10.5 million people and the World Cup host cities Johannesburg and Pretoria, there were 1,940 violent crimes reported for every 100,000 people in 2008. The violent crime rate in Michigan, which has a similar population, was nearly one-fourth that number.

Here, the Telegraph of London reports the extraordinary measures taken by South Africa police, the same force that owes its glories to Mandela:

BaySecur, the security consultancy in charge of Germany 2006, said: "The possibility for the players of moving outside of the hotel boundaries should be kept to a minimum.

"Otherwise there must be a full escort; armed security guards and bullet-proof vests for the players."

The South African government has announced a dedicated force of 41,000 police officers, following a huge recruitment drive to increase the numbers of officers by 55,000 to over 190,000 by the end of 2009.

Yes, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is already a failure.