22 April 2004

Should England Tour Zimbabwe? This question is raised in the wake of an Australian cricketer refusing to tour on moral grounds, and a lot of pressure on the England team to do likewise.  I was one who was disgusted by the cowardly shilly-shallying of the England team at last year's World Cup, and who felt then that all matches in Zimbabwe should have gone ahead in solidarity with Zimbabwean cricketers. After reading this piece about a British cricket writer being expelled from the country, I'm not so sure;  I also have a bad feeling about the standoff between the ZCU and their ex-captain and 15 players.  England should stay put. 2:28:14 PM    comment []

The Hijab Here is a timely article by a muslim South African young lady who wears traditional Islamic dress, the hijab.  It is something I have wondered about, particularly in recent times with the controversy about the headscarf in France.  I wonder whether that ban is necessary, and whether it simply breeds opposition and extremism.  I remember all the dignified, otherwise normal muslim ladies one meets as bank tellers, shop assistants or in other contexts in Cape Town who do wear the hijab and are accepted for it.  Why cannot the rest of the world accept this also?  I must say that one tends to focus on the eyes when you meet one of these ladies, and sometimes you see a lot there. 12:23:21 PM    comment []

Sad Story What a waste of a great opportunity!  One of many, many articles highlighting the dire state of Greece's preparations for the August Olympics.  This one quite accurately puts its finger on some of the reasons, corruption, political infighting, obscure and obstinate legal challenges.  From the eight weeks I spent in Athens in January and February, I would say there is no chance of the tram line to Faliron being ready, I traversed the route several times.  The Marathon route is an absolute disgrace, I don't see how they can fix that on time, or hide it from the cameras.  I just hope they get the dome up over the main stadium. In the end, consistent optimist that I am, I think that the actual show will go ahead, and will be reasonably successful, surprising many people.  Just a pity that the beautification projects are being scrapped, because the areas surounding some of the completed projects are a wasteland, and the Greeks are unlikely to do anything about that after the event, just adding to the continually unfinished appearance of the capital.  I never see any mention of the fact that Cape Town came second in the selection contest in 1997.  I often wonder if Cape Town would have made a better job of the Games.  I believe they would have done, and that the city would have derived huge benefit from hosting the Games.  I guess we'll never know. 12:02:14 PM    comment []