UnFreedom Day / Asikhululekile

The 27th April marks the day in South Africa on which the first free elections were held in 1994: Freedom Day, is how the government consecrated the event. The end of Apartheid has been followed by arrangements that are less detestable, but not by much. Inequality is up in what was, by state policy, one of the world's most persistently unequal societies. Not to worry, you might counter. If inequality is increasing, it's not because the poor are getting poorer, but that there's a few people getting richer - an augury of redistribution and high income for all. But the poor are getting poorer. As this report suggests, "50 percent of South African households lived on less than R2 899 per month for a household of eight in 2004, up from 40 percent in 1994."

In Durban this year, the 27th is being marked as UnFreedom Day by a number of Durban-based social movements, including the Shackdwellers, the South Durban Environmental Action Coalition and the Concerned Citizen's Forum. You can read more by downloading a bilingual flyer, a press release in English or Zulu, or an excellent 1.4MB pamphlet.

The Thornbirds, The Thornbirds, The Thornbirds, Dallas

I really think we need to be a little more surprised about this than we are. It's a link to the UK National Grid's top ten power spikes associated with TV viewing. The spikes tell of the action of people who, in TV ad breaks, collectively bugger off and make a cup of tea, causing trouble to electricity suppliers across the nation.

Since 1990, the list has been riddled with sporting events. The highest 'TV pick up' to date came after the 1990 World Cup Semi Final between Germany and England, rated at a healthy 2800 MW. Other high pick up matches include England vs Brazil, Juventus v Manchester United and, improbably, a 2002 Nigeria v England match.

The 1980s pickups are utterly different, dominated (with five years between the #1 and #2 slots) by The Thornbirds, The Thornbirds, The Thornbirds, and then Dallas. The only vaguely sporting event on the 1980s list was the 1981 Royal Wedding, (which I think the Windsors won on goal difference), causing a power spike which came #7 in the decade, hot on the heels of vastly more enjoyable Coronation Street / Blue Thunder double billing.