Do try to keep up

Have you read Fikile Mbalula’s speech from the Economic Freedom in our Lifetime lecture last night?

If not, why not? You are lagging behind. Do try to keep up.

Speaking on the subject of the (proposed?) nationalisation of the mining industry and, in this excerpt, specifically on those who are against such a plan, he said:

It is of paramount importance that revolutionaries should soberly engage the ANC Youth League. This engagement should be based on answering the fundamental question:
“To what extent does the slogan ‘economic freedom in our lifetime’ link strategically to the slogan for ‘freedom in our lifetime’?”

These questions are of pivotal importance because if the entire mass democratic movement fails in its conviction to see a symbiotic link between the two slogans in this era of the National Democratic Revolution, and rather settle for isolating one at the expense of the other, this will, to my mind, be equal to an intellectual and ideological disservice on the side of the movement as a whole.

However, we are fully aware of a tendency that attempted to dislodge the content of the National Democratic Revolution by among other things, dismissing race as less important a social category in contemplating any social progress.

At the same time, we were aware of the ultra-leftist tendencies that were aimed at uplifting pseudo-Marxist predispositions at the expense of the revolutionary recognition of the symbiotic link between national liberation and social emancipation; born out of the acknowledgement of the inter-play between the national oppression and class exploitation; in the context of the National Democratic Revolution.

Yeah. What he said. You’d better believe it.
And extra points for getting the all important “tendency” in there.

Basically, for those of you at the back, I think that he’s having a bit of a pop at Blade Nzimande – “that bloke from the SA Communist Party”  – who, as we’ve seen before, isn’t adverse to a little bit of hyperverbosity (aimed right back at Fikile’s chums) himself.

It seems that when it comes to insulting one’s allies through the means of speeches or statements filled with ridiculously extreme,  hyphen-laden, politically-related adjectives, the members of the tripartite alliance have got it sorted.

Yes, there was snow on Table Mountain today

Mainly for people overseas:

It’s true. TableMountain.net, the official site of er… Table Mountain, provided us with photographic evidence of the snow falling, and of two young gents enjoying enduring the weather in their shorts:

This was then followed shortly afterwards by taxijam.tv, whose crew were atop the flat rock for a pre-production meeting about the Vote for Table Mountain in the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. They promptly filmed this:

 [vimeo clip_id=”27330379″ width=”678″ height=”381″]

It’s all romantic and cold and wintery and lovely, isn’t it? Or maybe just cold and wet, depending on how you look at it.

Not quite on a par with the waist deep stuff I encountered on The Last Hurrah, but because it’s relatively unusual for Cape Town to see these sort of conditions and because Table Mountain is unique in its setting right next to a major metropolis. Thus social media networks have been full of retweets and wall posts of the pic above.
As someone who grew up with regular winter snowfalls, it’s rather amusing to see how excited people get about this short, sudden flurry, in much the same way as London grinds to a halt if more than an inch of the white stuff comes down.

Let’s hope the weather up there improves before my wife chucks herself off the top sometime in the near future (rope attached).

Dinner with a view

There’s a new kid in town. Step forward The Executive Club at the Westin Grand.
It’s probably not new at all actually, but it was new to us. And it has finally deposed that amazing 2007 meal at the Cape Grace’s One Waterfront from the prestigious top spot in my Best Meals I Have Eaten In Cape Town list.

As a choice for Mrs 6k’s [redacted]th birthday celebrations, I couldn’t have landed with my bum more firmly in the butter. When it comes to choosing awesome restaurants for big events, it seems that I officially rock.
So here’s how it happened. Read and learn.

Start by getting in touch with Shireen (021 412 9050) at the Westin Grand in Cape Town (that’s the “old” Arabella Sheraton above the CTICC). Book your table.

Arrive, park under the hotel and jump into a lift heading to the 19th floor. Don’t forget to collect envious glances from other elevator users who have to exit at other lesser floors, such as 3, 8 and 12.
12. Pfft.

Enter the restaurant through the thickest plate glass door ever; card-activated to keep the riff-raff out.  Enjoy the dimmed lights, the intimate ambiance, the soft jazz and the beautiful night-time vista of downtown Cape Town:

Is that my Stadium in the distance? I think it is.
(Live webcam here)

Enjoy complimentary bubbly and a rather unusual prawn cocktail appetiser as the Maître d’ and chef appear and wish your wife happy birthday.

Delight in the starters: Carpaccio of Smoked Duck (mango chutney sorbet, masala vinaigrette) and Summer Squash Soup (home made ricotta and sage stuffed zucchini).
Unsurpisingly, it was me who had the duck – and wow – what a combination of textures, temperatures and flavours. Utterly superb.

Revel in (not literally) the tart raspberry sorbet as it cleanses your palate.

Be blown away by the mains: Study of Lamb (pulled lamb terrine and grilled loin with truffled pomme purée, and pan juices) and Norwegian Salmon (poached in smoked olive oil on burnt citrus endive, potato gnocchi and a white chocolate emulsion).
I cannot describe how tender the lamb and how rich and flavoursome the accompanying terrine were. And when joined by a damn fine Rupert & Rothschild Red Blend, well… I was in heaven.

Just remember that it’s not over yet. You still have that Hazlenut and Praline fondant with roasted banana ice cream to endure.
And coffee.
And that’s before they bring out a chocolate and mandarin mousse in a dark chocolate basket to wish your Mrs a happy birthday. Incredible.

And then, cringe with embarrassment when the entire bill (including all drinks) comes to R427, for a meal and an experience I would gladly have paid twice, three-times as much for.

It’s difficult being this good at being lucky at organising a special meal out.
And it was a toughie as to whether I should tell you about this place. I was hugely tempted to keep it all for myself, but then I imagined your poor little faces gazing up at me, blinking back tears, with that “we’re longing for somewhere that can give us an absolutely awesome meal for a very reasonable price” look in your big eyes,and I simply had to share.

But hey – let’s make this our little secret, ok?

Full menu
Dinner with a view special

The carbon cost of Germany’s nuclear ‘Nein danke!’

We’ve mentioned Andrea Merkel’s idiotic decision to abandon nuclear power a couple of times on this blog recently (namely here and here). At the time, I said it was a kneejerk reaction – one that hadn’t been properly through (save for trying to keep the green lobby happy). Well, things seem to be going from bad to worse, as David Strahan states in the New Scientist.

Last year the government, headed by Angela Merkel, made the sensible but unpopular decision to extend the life of Germany’s nuclear plants to 2036 as a “bridge technology” towards “the age of renewable energy”. But after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, public hostility intensified and Merkel retreated. The U-turn may help her in the 2013 federal elections but it is a major reversal for the climate.

Germany, (a country which, lest we forget, is a world leader in solar and wind power) now needs to get its energy from somewhere and even with its ambitious plans to produce 35% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, that simply isn’t enough – even for this world leader.
So, what do they do?

How will Germany fill that hole? With coal and other fossil fuels. It has plans to build 20 gigawatts of fossil-fuel power stations by 2020, including 9 gigawatts of coal by 2013. The government now describes fossil-fuel power stations – apparently without irony – as “the new bridging technology”. Some of this may never be fitted with carbon capture and storage because German environmental campaigners don’t like this technology either.

Oops.

Trevor Sikorski, head of environmental market research at London investment bank Barclays Capital, calculates that Germany will emit an extra 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide between now and 2020. That is more than the annual emissions of Italy and Spain combined under the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS).

So much for the EU’s plan to reduce carbon emissions by 335 million tonnes by 2020. That’s now been almost completely negated by Germany turning its back on nuclear energy. And with the fossil fuelled power comes other air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.

South African anti-nuclear campaigners (with their dramatic websites) would do well to take note. Their demands for using “renewable” sources to generate electricity might be well-meaning, but are hopelessly inadequate. When a first-world, developed country with a reputation for green technology and engineering can’t support itself with wind and solar and has to turn to dirty coal and oil (albeit because of a silly decision), realistically, what hope does SA have?