I really don't understand Sundowns fans, your team has won 8 League titles in a row. They're reigning CAF Champions League Champions. They're playing their first match of the season and the Stadium is EMPTY! In the middle of a township in Pretoria.
What more must they do?
Hormuz ain't just about oil.
It is about LNG, fertilizers, sulphur, aluminium and carbon black too. Plus massive food and containerized goods imports.
All of which requires specialized infrastructure.
Good afternoon, @caesarzvayi
In March 2023, I went to see President Ian Khama at his home in Johannesburg, and we discussed many things around his presidency. I raised your issue with him, and his perspective was very interesting.
He said to me:
“Hopewell, it is difficult to understand how someone can support ZANUPF, its atrocities, its failures, its mismanagement of the Zimbabwean economy, and all the killings it continues to carry out.
Then that person leaves that failed country, that reign of terror, abuse, mismanagement and everything that comes with it behind. They go to a country called Botswana, where they are enjoying freedoms that are being denied in the country they left, yet they continue to support the denial of those same freedoms to Zimbabweans by ZANUPF.
Such a person should ask themselves whether it is right to enjoy freedoms in Botswana while supporting a political party that denies those same freedoms to Zimbabwean citizens at home. And then they write about it regularly, supporting the oppression of their own people.”
He added;
“Why should such a person escape the dysfunctionality of Zimbabwe, a country that cannot even provide adequate employment opportunities, when he supports the very system responsible for that dysfunctionality? He escapes that madness by going to Botswana, where he gets a job and enjoys the freedoms and opportunities that Zimbabweans are denied.
We would rather have a victim of that system in Zimbabwe come to Botswana, if they have the necessary skills, and get a job than employ people who have supported and helped create a political menace for Zimbabweans, only to reward them by giving them jobs in Botswana.”
That is what President Khama said to me about your case, Caesar.
Defend ideas. Not people. Never defend people. People are fickle, complicated. And even when you defend ideas, interrogate them until they prove worthy, fit for purpose; refine them. Ideas will not sneak up on you and have scandals. They will not be greedy and betray you.
My football highlight of the year has been watching my club lift the Premier League title.
Your football highlight of the year has been Arsenal missing out on a transfer target.
We are not the same.
Now that the Vinicius Junior saga is over, as confirmed by the honorable @DavidOrnstein, here are my thoughts on it:
1. Arsenal were right to go all in for Vini Jr., even if there was only a 1% chance of signing him. There’s a reason a deal for him was always going to be almost unattainable; he’s the best in his position in Europe. If we had to do it all over again, I’d still want Arsenal in that conversation.
2. If reports are to be believed, Arsenal did everything right during this saga, including not actively speaking to alternative targets. A transformative player like Vinicius deserves total focus in a situation like this.
3. Despite missing out on Vini, signing a player like Bruno Guimarães makes an already strong team even stronger. As it stands, we’re favorites to retain the Premier League. A player like Vini would have boosted our odds to win the UCL.
4. Arsenal must now act quickly, switch attention to other attacking targets, and be prepared to pay premium value - we’ve already shown the market we have serious money to spend.
All in all, there’s no shame in being ambitious (which is exactly what Arsenal were by going after a player of Vini’s caliber). The real shame is not trying at all. Ever since Arteta returned to the club, we’ve been making bold moves and raising standards. The fact that Arsenal’s interest forced Real Madrid to offer Vinicius what they initially refused for 18 months shows how far we’ve come since 2019. We are a club that is now taken seriously by Europe’s elite.
I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be here than where we were 6 seasons ago.