Is the future really airborne?

Here is something they didn't consider when they waved away the idea of flying cars; no tyres. 

And if everyone used vertical take-off vehicles, road networks would become abandoned & perhaps overrun with vegetation & animals. How would safari trips happen in a flying car? Maybe very easily now that I think of it. 

The Bellwether Oryx "VOLAR".

So the only real danger of an evtol is malfunction & crash landing into some important infrastructure. Something that already happens with cars. Can this be solved with ballistic parachutes? Are aircraft less likely to crash because there a so few of them or is air travel simply safer because of less obstacles to avoid? What then when more aircraft are added? Would it be just as easy to fly? One YouTuber  mentioned something interesting; cars heading in different coordinations could travel at different heights - I imagine vehicles heading in a northerly direction could travel at 800 metres above ground & vehicles heading in a southerly direction could travel at 600 metres above ground or something similar. 

The Jetson One.

The only other problem if vertical take-off vehicles become commonplace is traditional combustion engine mechanics might lose their jobs unless they can adapt to the new technology. The new aircraft would also likely be more electric, so traditional petrol stations would have to repurpose themselves... 

Think of these benefits: 

• Minimal traffic, 

• shorter commute time, 

• no potholes & 

• no need for tyres. 

Are these benefits people are willing to have by conquering a fear of heights in electric flying cars & electric flying motorcycles? I think many would be willing to brave their fear of heights for the four above-mentioned benefits. 

CONCEPT FOR AN AIR TRAIN/BUS SERVICE

Select eVTOL vehicles:

• Bellwether Industries 

• Bellwether Oryx 

• Jetson One replicas 

• Leo Coupe

What to do after Cape Independence...

Cape Republicans / Kaapenars citing why secession from South Africa is necessary. 

After the Western Cape secedes from South Africa, financial institutions regarding banking, insurance, life cover, investments & pensions would need to be allowed to continue their services. I imagine all Eurasian people would migrate to the new country & leave the rest of South Africa black. Barring the few that really, really want to live around black people. 

The proposed Cape Republic flag.

I genuinely believe that the Cape Republic will succeed when separated from black South Africa & would likely join forces with Orania isolates. I even believe that the West would be more than happy to invest in a sovereign Cape Republic state... perhaps to just teach black South Africa a lesson. Ofcourse, the Cape Republic will sooner or later try to destabilise black South Africa but we'll have to simply be prepared. So #FreetheCape , a Eurasian state at the southern most tip of Africa is not a terrible idea because having everyone go to their ancestral homelands would simply be too costly & may be taken as a forced deportation of minorities by a racist black country. 

South African sport is not taken seriously...

I need to start with a small disclaimer/funny anecdote: You know when you comment on sport, people sometimes think that you were an ex-professional & want to challenge you to see if you can still play, I guess... Even if you haven't played seriously for almost 19 years. Sure enough, you can still play but now you gotta play like a professional to them... having never have played professionally ever. Constantly being made to prove something that gains you nothing even when you win. 

Anyone who knows anything about South African & African basketball could see a mile away that the new teams representing South Africa in the Basketball Africa League (the BAL) would get thrashed & it's not because we don't have a bit of talent, it's just the lack of initiative in the sport of basketball in South Africa. The sports department of South Africa just does not take basketball seriously, I think it's still like a fun side-hobby to them. I was originally going to title this blog "South African basketball is a joke" but remembered that this unserious mentality is not only reserved for basketball but for any sport that isn't majority white. 

Rugby in South Africa is taken as the leading sport because they've won three IRB Rugby World Cups. Rugby is traditionally a white sport in South Africa so you can be deluded into believing that white athletes are better & it's just not the case. As soon as majority white sports become a little more competitive globally (such as cricket & hockey), suddenly the South African national team just doesn't do so well anymore. There are about nine (9) vaguely competitive countries in the rugby world that could pose any challenge to South Africa as compared to about forty (40) football national teams worldwide that could beat the FIFA World Cup champions on a good day. In all seriousness, there are two really good rugby countries worldwide - i. e. countries who take rugby seriously as their national sport: New Zealand & South Africa (partly). I've already blogged on the competition comparisons in rugby & football. I think the same comparisons can be made for a sport like basketball to others because while we believe basketball to be a "developed land" sport, it probably requires as much equipment to play as football, if not, less. So it has caught on in many countries making it a bigger sport than rugby in the African continent & the world. In a thirty kilometre radius in my locale, there are about eight basketball courts. People can't claim lack of access. The problem is how South African basketball is structured & who is selected to succeed in the game - & the people who used to choose who to make succeed in the sport used to be incredibly biased in my teenage years, I'm not sure about now.

Football in South Africa isn't structured too badly but it's lazily assembled. There are numerous ways domestic football in South Africa could be reinvigorated to create some really world-class talent but it's very sleepily organised much like a lot of things in South Africa. I've blogged about this before so I don't want to go into it so much, you'll just have to find the blog somewhere. 

South Africa is somewhat a basketball country, whether we like to admit it or not. I am willing to bet that one out of every ten South Africans have wanted to play or have played basketball before. Just simply walked by a basketball hoop & taken a few shots with a ball... it's human nature. It's one of those "always wanted to do it" things. But if we want to succeed with basketball as a national sport - we need to decide whether we; 

1) want to simply make a development, talent identification & league structure to sift good talent to the top or 

2) if we really want to be top contenders in African basketball & possibly win an Afrobasket or two by introducing some innovative & enterprising concepts into South African basketball. 

Because both options, with the right actions & decisions, are possible. 

But instead; netball, rugby & even wheelchair basketball are pushed ahead of South African basketball. And, at this point, we may have to concede that South Africa / our sports department has a majority-black sport success phobia. When we won an Olympic medal for the 4×100m relay, it was made an everything victory as though anyone in the country could pull it off, something I was lulled into believing myself (viz. blog link). People, the Olympics are insanely competitive, they are almost a political event in terms of importance. So Simbine, Maswangayi & the other two winning that medal was just not a small feat... but minimal sponsorship came along for the sport in comparison to the ever-failing South African cricket team. 

Sports governance in this country simply needs to come out & be honest with the public & tell us what is the name of this mind game they're playing so we can understand how we can get them to take sport / black athletes seriously. Sure, it's just sports & it's not food or shelter level importance but it would be nice for initiative to be taken for once even if no extra funds are allocated. 

Having a year-old basketball team, come into an established league in South Africa & win that league almost every single year since the founding of the BAL sounds very suspicious. And I almost can't believe that the established teams in South African basketball (Soweto Panthers, KwaZulu Marlins, Egoli Magic, Tshwane Suns etc.) never get to represent South Africa in the BAL. It's always a team founded a year or two ago. It's like the regular season in the NBA continuing as usual, a champion being crowned then suddenly, the NBA champions have to play against some newly assembled All-Star team for the title again. It's weird. But I really don't care, I just thought I should point out the injustice. I actually have a little schadenfreude everytime these unnatural Frankenstein teams from South Africa get thrashed. It's really funny, it's like watching the tale of Icarus in real life... 

What's worse is that the BAL recently announced a kit deal with Puma (the sports brand) & have a merchandise range for all the teams of the Kalahari conference including a South African basketball team that no one follows because it's barely a year old. It's crazy because I (& many others) would've really bought a KwaZulu Marlins Puma vest. 

NB: KwaZulu Marlins are two-time (1997 & 2024) South African basketball national league champions. 

#SénégalRek

This blog entry is regarding the Morocco vs Senegal AFCON Final game which Senegal won legally & now Morocco is trying win underhandedly & illegally in boardrooms. This AFCON tournament was marred with controversy as it was cited that referees often made decisions which favoured Morocco & ball boys would hound players for towels, towels which goalkeepers used to keep their gloves dry so the ball does not slip. Moroccan ball boys were literally trying to influence the outcome of the game. 

Here's what happened in the game in sequence; 

• Morocco gets a penalty. 

• The Senegalese coach (Pape Thiaw) calls all the players to leave in protest claiming the penalty is unjust as they did not recieve a penalty earlier in the game. 

• As the players are leaving, with some heading to the changing rooms - Senegalese player (Sadio Mané) thinks twice & calls back the players to continue the game. 

• The players return & the referee continues the game. 

• Morocco misses their penalty. 

• Senegal scores a goal. 

• Referee ends the game. 

• SÉNÉGAL ARE AFRICAN CHAMPIONS! 

Here are the IFAB rules pertaining to teams leaving the pitch: 

1. Authority to Manage the Situation

Leaving without Permission: A player who leaves the field of play without the referee's permission is guilty of a cautionable offence (yellow card).

Time-Wasting: The referee must make an allowance for time lost due to the walk-off.

Prevention: Referees are encouraged to act in a preventative manner, such as instructing players to return immediately. 

Laws of the Game | IFAB

Laws of the Game | IFAB 

2. Authority to Restart vs. Abandon

Waiting Period: The referee has the discretion to set a "reasonable amount of time" for the players to return. There is no strictly mandated minute count in the IFAB laws, but once the referee decides the time has been "exceeded" or the situation is unreasonable, they may take further action.

Restoring Order: If players return and the match can continue, the referee has the authority to restart it.

Abandonment: If the team refuses to return within the time specified by the referee, the referee has the authority to abandon the match. 

ESPN

ESPN 

3. Consequence of Refusal

Forfeit: If players leave the field without permission and refuse to return, the team that remains on the pitch is often awarded a 3-0 victory, regardless of the score at the time of the walk-off.

Reporting: The referee must submit a report to the appropriate authorities regarding the abandonment. 

ESPN

ESPN 

In summary, the referee can allow the match to continue if they choose to wait for the players to return, but they also have the authority to call off the game, which usually results in a forfeit against the team that left. 

The CAF rules regarding a team leaving a game state: 

Key CAF Rules on Abandoning a Match: 

Forfeiture and Score: A team that refuses to play or abandons the field (e.g., in protest) is deemed to have lost 3-0. If the score at the time is more beneficial to the opposing team (e.g., 4-0), that score stands. 

Abandonment Procedure: If a team leaves the pitch, the referee typically waits for a set period (often 15 minutes) before abandoning the match, treating it as a refusal to play. 

Immediate Penalties: Under Article 82, a team that abandons a match may face immediate elimination from the tournament. 

The referees decision is final. IFAB/FIFA & CAF rules state that should players leave the game in protest or whatever reason, the referee should demand they return & continue the game within a given time or get cautioned &/or lose the game. In the case of Senegal vs Morocco, the players returned voluntarily (in under 15 minutes) without the referee having to warn them. Mind you, Morocco once won an AFCON title in 1976 after abandoning a final game for more than 15 minutes against Guinea. So should Guinea get the AFCON 1976 title that Morocco "won"? Should Argentina be stripped the 1982 World Cup title because of the illegitimate "Hand of god" goal by Diego Maradona against England? It's obscene for a team to be stripped of a title because of biases & "brown envelopes" two months after the tournament is over. Therefore, Senegal's victory is legal from my perspective. 

Félicitations Sénégal pour la victoire contre la corruption, le tricherie et les voleurs. 

Black leaders who caused the most damage towards the black cause.

While we celebrate black heroes & black people who contributed positively to the world, we do have evil-doers who may have been celebrated in some corners but on a grander perspective, did tremendous damage to the dignity & livelihoods of the black/African people they affected. These are six of the black leaders that I feel did understated damage to the image, dignity & progress of the black cause. 

Tippu Tipp: Tippu Tip was said to be a notorious slave trader who had a large army which raided slaves all along the Swahili Coast & further inland into the Great Lakes region. He contributed in the continuation of the brutal Zanj slave trade, where Africans would be sent to Arabia to be made eunuchs & ultimately slaves.

Mobutu Sese Seko: This was a leader of the former Belgian Congo after the horrible death of Patrice Lumumba. He was backed by Western powers & plundered the land he renamed Zaïre for his own personal gain.

Jean-Bédel Bokassa: This was a leader of the Central African Republic who wanted to be Napoleon so badly that he renamed Central African Republic to the "Central African Empire" & ordained himself as the "Emperor" in a very lavish ceremony. When the people rebelled against one of his laws regarding school uniform, he arrested them, including children who he was said to have beaten in jail.

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang: This lady was the health minister in South Africa when she denied the existence of AIDS, claiming people simply needed to boost their immune system by eating beetroot among other things. The AIDS disease ended up killing 1,4 million black people in South Africa.

Nzinga-a-Nkuwu (João I): One of the Kongo kings that gave slaves to the Portuguese in exchange for firearms & other traded items. This slave trade led to conflict & turmoil in the Kongo kingdom which the Congo region has never fully recovered from.

Autshumao: He was the leader of the Khoisan tribe called the "Goringhaikona", he helped Jan van Riebeeck & the Dutch settle in the Cochokhoi land of the Cape called ǁHui ǃGaeb (now Cape Town). The Dutch along with the Huguenots & British would later exterminate & rape the Khoisan leading to their near complete extinction from modern South Africa.