JV and THE BIG CATS

Newsletter 139
23/11/16

Life is Not Fair

"Phumlany running with a stick
The cat rears back
As he hits and hits
A brief moment of opportunity
Run for you life
Run JV
You are free
You are free
The jaws of the tiger"

From the song
In the Jaws of the Tiger

Hello Friends

In the helicopter crash in Luangwa in 1995, the pilot was Rob Parsons. Only his incredible flying skills, saved the lives of Karin Slater, William Sibuya, Elmon  Mhlongo  and myself. 

When the paramedics arrived, Rob insisted they take him last even though he was the  worst hurt.  

After a botched operation, Rob Parsons died. 

The hero of the accident who had saved our lives, was gone and we were left alive. This is hardly fair. 

In 2012 when attacked by Tiger Corbett, two brave ladies, Julie Brown and Julieanne  Reid, rushed to help me, risking their lives in the process. 

However it was Phumlany Mchunu who had the presence of mind to realize he would need a weapon to get me out of the jaws of the tiger. Armed only with a stick, Phumlany took Corbett  head on. He hit him 3 times before Corbett released me. There is no question that Phumlany Mchunu saved my life that day.

On Saturday night thugs robbed Phumlany Mchunu and shot him dead in Johannesburg. This is hardly fair.

A more gentle, kinder, courageous human being, one could not hope to meet. 

My friend, my hero, my life brother, Phumlany Mchunu is gone. 

Rest in peace life brother, rest in peace. 

Love and Light
JV

I am devastated by the loss of my dear friend and life brother, Phumlany Mchunu. His life has been cruelly snatched away far too soon. Here is my last goodbye to Phumlany, and a message to his family...(follow YouTube link): https://youtu.be/ZSN9vrPJXOM

I have established a fund to help pay for Phumlany's young son's education. If you would like to contribute donate to:

Seven Falls Trading (Pty) Ltd
First National Bank
A/C 62094732693
Branch code 250655
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJ
IBAN: 230932 62094732693

Tread lightly on the Earth
JV

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Response to my Trump Card newsletter

JV

I always enjoy your letters and insights.  And most of the time I agree with what you write.  But this time the Watson letter really set me off.  In particular, the line "My point is that Donald Trump simply is no worse and no better than all the rest of these so called leaders whose agenda is to serve the corporations and to enrich themselves."

I think that fundamentally misses the mark.  I think you can certainly criticize leaders like Obama or Trudeau for not moving as quickly or aggressively as we might like.  But to say that there's no difference between Trump and Obama on this front is simply nuts.  Consider just one case: the Keystone pipeline.  Obama killed it.  Now the builder is putting together a new proposal to submit to the Trump administration with the expectation that Trump will approve it.  And you go from people like the Koch brothers not having a viable means of getting the tar sands oil to market to them having a very feasible means to do so.

I suspect that a Clinton administration would have followed up on the Obama administration's efforts to sue Exxon for lying about the impact of oil on the climate - which they knew about 30 years ago but publicly denied - while the Trump administration I expect to drop that effort.

The Paris agreement was perhaps not what Watson might have wanted, but getting a wide range of countries to buy into taking concrete efforts to reduce global warming was a major step forward, going beyond platitudes and beginning to get countries including China and the U.S. to take affirmative steps towards progress.  Were the actions as large as Watson - or you or I - would like?  No.  But this step was a major step forward.  One fundamental problem has been that all countries have been pointing fingers at everyone else saying "why should I do anything when XXX isn't doing their fair share?"  This response is natural when dealing with fair use of "the commons" and overcoming that objection was a major advance, even if the commitments weren't as large as we might like.

Will Trump renege on the U.S. commitment?  I don't know, and I certainly hope he doesn't.  But with Trump the question is open to doubt and it wouldn't have been with Clinton.  And if the U.S. pulls out, will other countries - especially China - hold fast?  Again, I don't know but I'm not optimistic.

Voices like Captain Watson's are important, in particular as they push the Overton Window in the direction of climate action activism.  But there has to be some recognition about what is feasible.  If you say "shut all coal power plants" or "you can't burn charcoal" you're simply not going to make any progress.  You need an agenda that includes alternatives.  Leaders don't need to take their shoe off and bang on the table; leaders don't need to bluster about strength or their commitment to a cause.  They need to have a plan about how to implement change and how to generate a coalition that will put that change into action.  Leaders will have a long term view and they will play the long game.  Obama is a leader. Putin, much as I dislike and distrust him, is also a leader although I don't like where he is leading.  Trump a leader?  Color me skeptical.

Hope all is well, and I look forward to a return visit to Tiger Canyons.

Rich

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Happy birthday Tina Turner

I would like to wish Tina a happy birthday for the 26th of November. Please watch YouTube  on 26th November for a musical tribute to Tina Turner.

 

Expensive Cats

Manana the Hunter