Seven Days on Twitter: #WhileYouWereSleeping #NeverWasteAGoodCrisis

Scrape the surface with a seven days Acumen Media report by Tonya Khoury.

You’re here to read about #Ukraine and #Russia, aren’t you? I’m afraid I can’t help you as much as I would like. #Ukrainians are heroes. Everyone condemned the situation. Nobody really helped. Unless you think that by putting #yellow and #blue on your timeline, you’ve done nothing but watch a narrative that has consumed all of the news media.

#Slacktivism, the part of your ego that thinks you actually have an impact through your profile picture, you don’t. #WhileYouWereSleeping the only thing #ukraine got was airtime in the world. You’ve been stuck to the Western narrative because there’s nothing else in the news, so I’m unfair to those of you who posted a profile photo or banner. You can’t do much else.

If you want the same story told from the perspective of Russia, there is only one outlet to rely on. I already said it though – I do not share. It will soon be closed. However, even though this is still news, the narrative is completely different. The war is almost over. The job is done and now the refugees are welcome in Russia and will soon be able to return to their war-torn country. Russia found the biological weapons and took the key cities. People died, many on both sides, all the media got it. It was not a war won by fighting, it was a war won over oil and gas. Putin’s response to the sanctions was to do nothing and the NATO clan went into hiding. The West panicked; they called the Saudis but the Saudis did not answer the phone. Here we are people, two million refugees later and greed – insurmountable greed – has won the war. Well greed, and lots of media chaos.

I am furious with the journalists of this planet; there just doesn’t seem to be any journalistic integrity anymore. The only thing that matters is how quickly you can publish a story and how strong your headlines are. It is far more important to take the media and confuse the public. Not a single story matches from the BBC to CNN to Al Jazeera. They reported that Chernobyl was leaking radioactive material that was going to impact Ukrainians, but about 15 minutes later we were told that it was a harmless leak that had been there for years and that it was under control. We heard about the disgusting bombing of a maternity ward; who even does that? Well, everyone actually, look at Syria and Palestine.

There is an idiom in public relations, ‘Never Waste a Good Crisis’. This means that if you have to post terrible news, wait until there is a much bigger story and chances are no one will pay attention. Let me tell you what you missed #WhileYouWereSleeping in your #WarComa. We stay international for a second because we seem so interested in international affairs.

Prince Andrew we call him Andrew now because he was stripped of his title, paid #Giuffre, over seven million pounds to forget she was raped as a child by a pedophile and not a single leader world did not blink.

#Pfizer dropped the biggest bomb of all #WhileYouWereSleeping; they delisted. Why? Well, here in South Africa speculation is that it’s because of official #VaccineSideEffects data. Basically, for the layman, they took the money and got away.

World Wars and Events

If you want to talk about wars and world events. This week alone, Libya had a new government imposed on the people, there was no vote. Syria, Lebanon, Palestine are still calling the world for help but no one is listening. It does not matter. #WhileYouWereSleeping Somalia and Sudan rushed in and rioted for food. These nations are literally starving, but you keep watching how they were playing the piano at the Polish border for the refugees. #MediaComa.

I don’t want to dwell on it, so I’m going to leave the international press now and bring it home because our local media is easier to check. After all, we still have the truth seeker, social media.

Wow #Eskom, just wow. Here in Sodwana we are in our third day without electricity and I am only writing this because our landlord has a generator to put an end to all generators, he is a lifesaver. Guess that’s what they call #StageSix, the place where no one gives a second look. #SleepingOnTheJob.

The war between Ukraine and Russia is having a major impact on the world, but here in South Africa it can literally be the last straw on our nation’s heavily laden back. The #price of fuel. I remember when I was working in the matrix in Johannesburg my fuel bill was more than my food bill by a mile (or a kilometer if you will) and I’m forever grateful that my longest trip today is between 6 and 10 km depending on which destination, sea or trade. One tank lasts me a month whereas in Johannesburg I filled it up twice a week.

#WFH has never been so economical. I can’t imagine the impact on our nation trying to get to their place of work that has no light – not even one at the end of the tunnel. Eskom has announced #Stage6 – is this the mark of the beast? I’ve seen headlines about how the economy loses R17 million per hour of #shedding, over a week or R700 million over a month or R15 billion! It’s simple math. Imagine what we could do with 15 billion rand – serious and excellent solar work. Go on! It’s not difficult, here comes the sun! #PowerNap

Headlines exploded when #RaymondZondo was officially announced as the new #ChiefJustice. The man who couldn’t lock up Zuma, but a man we consider a South African hero for his tenacity and endurance, now heads the nation’s highest court. It was #Ramaphosa’s decision and it was against the recommendation to put #JudgeMaya at the top of the channel. Rumors are swirling she’ll take the #DCJ job. I like this team. I really like this team. #StuffDreamsAreMadeOf

Which brings me to more good news; it seems that our president’s chess game has begun to take pawns, real ones, the ones whose names we know. #BathabileDlamini. Do you remember her? She led #SASSA and she was quoted as saying, “All of us in the NEC have our smallest skeletons (nyana), and we don’t want to eliminate all the skeletons because all hell is going to break loose.” Well, the grim reaper has arrived, #Dlamini. The court found that she was guilty of perjury. Conviction is yet to come. Bathabile is a massive name from a mobster potpourri. Hopefully this domino just cuts the edge of those lined up to fall.

#KehlaSithole went down last week and #Cele came out to give it a bite. #BhekiCele, he didn’t take his hat off; no need, there is no respect earned here. Mkhwebane is also poised to go down like a mis-stacked deck as she runs out of options on the court. But the #RoyalFlush is still up for grabs as #Zuma tries another Stalingrad tactic aimed at eliminating #Downer. He’s not going to win, however, the #SupremeCourt is bound to do the right thing.

Are we finally making progress in South Africa? #WakeyWakey. #Ramaphosa has also been approved for a second term, so let’s hope he brings his face cause it’s one hell of a game of #RouletteRusse. One thing he did that made us frown: he sold a single cow, an Nkomo, for 2.1 million rand to his brother-in-law #PatriceMotsepe. #Bad dream

No need for demagoguery and hatred

I want to talk about #NhlanhlaLux. I fell in love with this man. You may not remember this, but Lux saved Jabulani Mall during the #Insurgency. He was the pill that took the raiders from their fury to the realization that plunder today meant starvation tomorrow. In my opinion, it is because of him that South Africa said: #NotInMyName. This year though, Lux changed her narrative, I hate to say it but I suspect it’s been bought off.

He championed a movement called #OperationDudula, a xenophobic narrative with disastrous consequences. A crowd of several hundred armed rioters gathered in a jobless center in Alexandra brandishing weapons. Angry with foreigners they accuse of taking their jobs away. “Strangers, go home! was the clear message as #xenophobia exploded again last week. Of course, I understand; there are a lot of Zimbabweans precisely here in South Africa, much like the Ukrainians who are flooding Poland. This is the impact of poor leadership. I also agree that work opportunities should be a priority for South Africans, but do we need pangas guys? Can’t we just call the Department of Labor to the job? He’s just an administrator, no need for demagoguery and hatred.

I read an endearing and horrifying story on #Baragwanath. The nurses huddled together to buy mielies to feed the patients in the hospital as there was no food. Then the hospital staff went on strike. People will probably die, but you keep hitting the snooze button.

There was other news. #HelloDarlings was a story calling on #DeviSG to start opening doors. A woman called #TasneemMoosa used a travel scam to free many customers of millions of rands. She shut down all of her social sites and media and she was released with the money, #TahTahDarlings. Can someone call #DeviSG? We need her to kick down some doors please. Devi, luvvey, while you’re at it, can you also check out that Sandton #TinderSwindler. #ScamSlumber

Let me cheer you up. There’s one story that I’ve left out for months, mostly because it was so absurd and I didn’t want to give it any airtime: the #LicensingDepartment. One machine serves the whole country. A machine. It broke! Did we fix it? No, we can’t fix that, you see out of 40 million people not a single person is able to maintain or even invent a machine like this. Apparently only Germans can come up with this #voorsprung. Fast forward five to six months and the machine is back. Well, when I say back, I mean the machine is late. Do we have six-month contingency plans? Of course not. You dreamers.

The good news is that if your license has expired, you don’t need a tank of fuel. I told you I would cheer you up.

I’m Tonya Khoury and you’ve just scratched the surface with Acumen Media. Follow us on YouTube for a light video version of this report.


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