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Bend It Like Imperialism! The World Cup 1, African Liberation Nil

Jared A. Ball | 21.06.2010 19:59 | Analysis | Globalisation | Social Struggles | World

So many Black American entertainers and luminaries flocked to the World Cup opening ceremonies in South Africa, one veteran activist was prompted to remark that "these folks are crossing the picket line." It is a line that separates South Africa's poor Black majority from the real beneficiaries of the "gold" - "the soccer elites of FIFA, the elites of domestic and international corporate capital and the political elites who are making billions and who will be benefiting at the expense of the poor."




Editorial comment:

So many Black American entertainers and luminaries flocked to the World Cup opening ceremonies in South Africa, one veteran activist was prompted to remark that "these folks are crossing the picket line." It is a line that separates South Africa's poor Black majority from the real beneficiaries of the "gold" - "the soccer elites of FIFA, the elites of domestic and international corporate capital and the political elites who are making billions and who will be benefiting at the expense of the poor."

____________________


Bend It Like Imperialism! The World Cup 1, African Liberation Nil

by Jared A. Ball, 15 June 2010


"These stadiums are encased in a 'Ring of Steel' to protect audiences from 'unpatriotic citizens' of South Africa."


Today, June 16, marks the 34th anniversary of the South African Soweto uprising where thousands of African youth took to the streets and where hundreds would die at the hands of the South African police and military. Today, June 16, also marks the first anniversary of that uprising to take place during the first ever World Cup on the African continent. These competing, colliding commemorations and events stand in violent opposition to one another precisely because the World Cup is corporate-sponsored spectacle playing on our emotions in the hopes that we will not realize or will ignore those who try to force realization, that the causes of the Soweto uprising, indeed the very existence of a Soweto or a South Africa, remain, are even worse now than 34 years ago. So bad are these conditions today that in response to seeing so many Black American entertainers participating in the World Cup opening ceremonies one veteran activist remarked to me that "these folks are crossing the picket line."

No one at all familiar with the history of the labor movement can hear lightly this kind of condemnation. To cross any picket line, that is, to become a "scab" is to betray the struggle of your kind, of your class. And this is precisely what major events such as the World Cup demand of its participants. And everyone did. Hugh Masekela was there to briefly blow his once defiant horn, as was John Legend and the Black Eyed Peas fresh off their Obama inauguration performance where they omitted their lyrics about the CIA being terrorists. Shakira was there in her grass skirt wiggling her light/white Latin Americanness before the world and from within the "Dark Continent" no less! And, of course, there was K'Naan the talented Somali rapper who foolishly accepts invitations from white liberals to bash Black Americans as not really being that oppressed while himself selling his liberation song Wavin' Flag to Coca-Cola to be used as the World Cup theme song absent, naturally, of its lyrical references to Somali suffering. And all the while his fellow continental Africans, who he cannot dismiss as having it as easy as their American cousins, do not have their concerns addressed either.


"Since the "fall of apartheid" White income has risen 24% while that of Black Africans has actually dropped."


So no mention of the 20,000 poor removed from stadium sites into even smaller slums. No mention that these stadiums are encased in a "Ring of Steel" to protect audiences from "unpatriotic citizens" of South Africa whose presence alone, never mind any actual protest, might heighten too many contradictions. No mention either of the 22 million Africans in South Africa who live as squatters, and have no potable water. Or the 14 million who are unemployed, or that 43% live ith less than $2 a day. And no mention that Black South African men earn what equates to $320 a month while White men earn $2,600 or that Whites as 12% of the population still hold 74% of private sector jobs, control over 80% of the land and all of the military. Further, no mention can be made of the fact that since the "fall of apartheid" White income has risen 24% while that of Black Africans has actually dropped. Of course, this is aided by the embedded model of journalism where the World Cup governing body FIFA has right of refusal to any journalist accreditations should anyone be so foolish as to actually attempt to report any of this. This will also be helpful in preventing the world from becoming aware of the fact that most of the products being sold at the World Cup are Chinese or that FIFA owns all the merchandising rights which has led one writer to explain that, "This World Cup is not for the poor - it is the soccer elites of FIFA, the elites of domestic and international corporate capital and the political elites who are making billions and who will be benefiting at the expense of the poor."

And though few will see or hear of them protests are being organized and efforts to break through the televised façade will continue. One such effort is coming from the Socialist Party of Azania (SOPA) whose statement in promotion of a call to join them June 16 in South Africa to commemorate the 1976 Soweto uprising says: "Therefore, our call comes at a time when the subtle and insidious mechanism of State is used to good effect by the Capitalist Overlords to ensure the willing obedience and subservience of the working-class through a twisted vocalization of what they claim is a "universal message of equality, love and justice" wrapped up in massive sports jamborees, coupled with the subtle threat that "...if we do not believe and promote their message, then we are evil and will be dealt with in ways that we cannot begin to imagine..."
In the meantime, I like many Black onlookers, will continue to watch and root for teams along the following lines: against all teams of the West, then for the teams with the most Black players and so on down the line and ultimately only for those whose struggles continue and remain ignored.

Jared A. Ball
- e-mail: jared.ball@morgan.edu
- Homepage: http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/bend-it-imperialism-world-cup-1-african-liberation-nil

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Imperialist Puppets 7 Juche Boys 0 - Post-match analysis

22.06.2010 06:27

Feats of Kim Jong Il's Ideo-theoretical Activities Lauded

Pyongyang, June 21 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il clearly indicated the road to be followed by socialism with his extraordinary wisdom and has steered the revolutionary cause of Juche to a brilliant victory by dint of ideology. His profound ideological and theoretical activities and leadership feats culminated in the work "Giving Priority to Ideological Work Is Essential for Accomplishing Socialism".

Rodong Sinmun Monday stresses this in a signed article.

It goes on:

Comprehensively expounded in the work are theories on ideological work of socialism ranging from the significance and importance of the ideological work in carrying out the socialist cause to the essence and tasks of the working-class party's ideological work and its contents and ways.


Kim Jong Il has steered the Korean people's struggle to victory, clearly illuminating the road ahead of the times and the revolution through his tireless ideo-theoretical activities. And with his Songun politics based on the theory of ideology he has realized the army- people unity in ideology and work-style, thus further increasing the might of the revolutionary ranks. This is a vivid expression of the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il who has guided the socialist cause by dint of ideology.


He also saw to it that forms and methods of ideological work were steadily improved in keeping with the requirements of the developing reality to intensify the drive for a great revolutionary surge.


In recent years he made public a number of works and letters and advanced the new ideas of great surge one after another to remarkably enhance the mental power of Kim Il Sung's nation and indicate a shortcut to making leap forward and innovations. Thanks to such energetic ideo-theoretical activities of his, a fresh turn is now being brought in building a thriving nation and the Korean revolution is making long strides full of vigor.


The army and people of the DPRK are working world-startling miracles and feats by dint of the army-people unity at every construction sites for great surge.


All the people are pushing ahead with the drive for a great surge to build an economic power and improve the standard of people's living in the spirit of single-minded unity, strong self-respect of the nation, self-reliance and fortitude and with warm love and devotion for the future. This is the true picture of Korean-style socialism, concludes the article.


Kim Jong Dead


Untruth and non reconciliation

22.06.2010 09:47

The ANC government and its Western backers somehow found billions and billions of rands to build state of the art football stadiums for mostly overseas audiences while black people living nearby have no electricity or running water. If I remember correctly, in the old South Africa, more land was set aside for wild animals than was reserved for blacks. One wonders if that is still the case. In reality, Apartheid never actually fell, the West, its Afrikaner allies, and some members of the so-called liberation movement colluded to re-brand it. The so called Truth and Reconciliation commission was set up by the West as a means of whitewashing one of the biggest systematic crimes against humanity in history, and as as way of enabling the white perpetrators to avoid punishment and to keep their ill-gotten gains. The same White controlled multi-nationals which did so much to enable the enforcement of apartheid are extremely happy to have a permanently entrenched white minority in power in South Africa without having to bear the onus of enforcing overtly racial policies. Modern neo-liberal economics and local and global white supremacy are an easy fit. I predict that the verdict of history will be extremely unkind to people such as Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela who struck a "bargain" with the devil, bought into this con and sold it to their people in lieu of genuine liberation. Decades ago, during their fight against white oppressors who had also been in their countries for many generations, the Vietnamese and Indonesians developed the right idea about how one deals with colonial subjection. One fights until the enemy relizes that you will never stop fighting them until they either cede power, or leave. Unlike blacks in South Africa and in far too many other plces, they understood that freedom and liberation are never been granted at a conference table by ones oppressors.

Peasehead


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