World domination
NO SOONER has the building been locked down for the evening than the conversation begins. “What are we going to do tonight, Brain?” asks Pinky.
“The same thing we do every night,” Brain replies “Try to take over the world.”
Despite their persistence, world domination still eludes Warner Bros’ favourite lab rats (for now) as their efforts routinely fall short before sunrise.
You see, taking over the world takes hard work, determination, perseverance and plenty of trialand-error.
As frustrated as the partners in crime get, Pinky and the
Brain know that the longer their nightly endeavours continue, the closer they come to reaching their ultimate goal.
The more they fail, the more they learn and the fewer mistakes they make. Every night they fall short but inch closer, perfecting their master plan and one of these days the world will be theirs for the taking.
Sooner or later, Pinky is going to turn to his buddy to ask his standard question and receive a different response.
This year is cruising along at a dizzying pace and if I want to fulfil my new resolution, to take over the world before the rats get to it, I better start moving.
I know It’s not going to be easy and if I set my sights on succeeding by January 2020, I will get distracted and never reach my goal.
Instead, I’ve opted to follow the example of two red-eyed rodents and do the same thing every day.
After all, that’s how you take over the world. Isn’t it?
I’m going to try and usually fail but that’s okay. I only need to succeed once and in the process, I’m learning. Do what you can now and slowly but surely, all the pieces of the master plan will fall into place.
As I gain insight, information and experience, I will learn to be more efficient but as I do time and technology are bound to shift the boundaries.
No longer is existence confined to mind, body and spirit. Technology has made its mark on the world as the world makes its mark on technology.
Our fundamental needs have remained consistent for millennia but the rise of the internet has seen our methods of satisfying these needs evolve faster than our compassion for each other.
We have unprecedented access to information but distinguishing between right and wrong, truth and lie, fact and opinion has never been more difficult.
Today we are mental, physical, spiritual and digital beings, making what we do more important than ever.
We have bridged the gap between virtual and reality and we need to remember that on the other end of most of those e-mails, tweets, posts, opinions obscenities and obscurities are people. Real ones with names, faces, friends, families, feelings and everything.
Remembering to be a human and act accordingly, always, will aid you as you aspire for omnipotence and needs to be a central theme in every decision.
Doing so should be more than a mere New Year’s resolution as life is an indefinite work in progress.
Besides, 2019 is going to be a busy year with so many variables that an ability to adapt is likely to be the ultimate achievement.
That’s why my goal continues to be world domination and while it’s not going to be easy, not making the consistent effort with my partners in crime would make it impossible.
I’m going to be trying, failing and learning. One day I will succeed. deficit, the crises in state-owned entities and fighting corruption.
They said they were aware the government did not have much room to move with the Budget, but there were critical issues and money must be spent on deserving projects.
DA MP and its spokesperson on finance Alf Lees said there was ballooning debt, debt-laden SOES, poor economic growth and unemployment.
Lees said they had key questions that needed answers. The country would not get out of the woods unless Mboweni dealt with the issue of jobs and the debt of SOES, he said.
“A credible plan to boost economic growth by an average of at least 3% will need to be presented.
“However, to boost economic growth and create jobs requires a fundamental change in economic policy in South Africa. That is why South Africa needs a policy shock to boost economic growth and create jobs.”
The IFP also said it was concerned about low growth in the economy, unemployment and the escalating debt.
The debt is now sitting at close to 60% of the gross domestic product, but National Treasury said it will start stabilising soon.
Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem said the party was concerned about many issues affecting the country.
“We don’t expect any miracles to come out of the Budget. We know the country is in a serious economic and financial crisis. However, we want Mboweni to explain to the country how the government is going to address the Eskom crisis and load shedding,” said Bloem.
Cope also wanted Mboweni to deal with the funding of students following protests across most universities.
Cosatu has also come out saying it wants the government to deal with the question of unbundling Eskom.
This was after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his State of the Nation address that Eskom will be split into three units responsible for generation, distribution and transmission.
The trade union federation met Ramaphosa and members of his Cabinet task team on Eskom yesterday.
Cosatu said it opposed the unbundling of the power utility and any job losses.
Today will be Mboweni’s maiden Budget speech and opposition parties said the billions spent on SOES to bail them out must come to an end.
What was needed was a strong plan to boost jobs and grow the economy.