Whatshot

2026
2025
November
2024
June
April
2023
March
2022
2021
2020
March
February
2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2016
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2015
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2014
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2013
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2012
December
November
October
September
August
July

WHAT'S THE ISSUE?

WHAT'S THE ISSUE?

Author: By Tomas Yoko
Date: 2026-03-27

Let us call this what it is. A circus. A magnificently expensive, catastrophically deadly, breathtakingly dishonest circus with the whole world sold a front row ticket it never asked for.

Benjamin Netanyahu has spent the better part of four decades sketching Iran on napkins, whiteboards and United Nations podiums with the feverish dedication of a man who simply cannot let an obsession die. And now, with a conveniently pliable Washington and a world already exhausted by manufactured crisis, the bombs have finally fallen. While negotiators sat across tables exchanging pleasantries and bottled water, the planes were already airborne. Multitasking, apparently, is a core competency of modern statecraft.

Then there is Donald Trump, who arrived at the presidency of the most powerful nation on earth promising to end wars and has since discovered that starting them is considerably more entertaining. The man who once called Netanyahu's cheerleaders personally is now head cheerleader himself, pompoms and all.

And speaking of cheerleaders. Erika Kirk was installed as CEO and Chair of the Board of Turning Point USA within a week of her husband Charlie's assassination at Utah Valley University, with the board invoking his alleged prior wishes as justification. Convenient timing. Chapters disbanded in protest, accusing the organisation of speaking for a man who can no longer speak for himself. A movement built on grassroots populism handed to a widow by a board with its own agenda. The long fingers of manipulation leave prints everywhere, if you know where to look.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic our friends in Europe perform their own magnificent pantomime. Keir Starmer nods. Macron poses. Ursula von der Leyen issues statements that land with the authority of a strongly worded Post-it note. Viktor Orban, who had the audacity to suggest that bombing people while simultaneously negotiating with them was somewhat counterproductive, finds himself frozen out, while Zelensky's generals reportedly discuss his physical future in terms that would make a Sicilian blush.

And closer to home, right here in our beloved South Africa, Parliament has been hosting its own gripping theatre production courtesy of the Mkhwanazi hearings. KZN Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi brought serious allegations of a criminal syndicate that has spread into law enforcement and intelligence services, and that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu colluded with criminal elements to disband the Political Killings Task Team in KwaZulu-Natal. Months of testimony, police officials, private citizens and MPs alleging widespread corruption within the criminal justice system, Paul O'Sullivan dramatically walking out mid-testimony before being ordered back, and a committee chairperson solemnly declaring they are not looking for any specific outcome. Of course not. They never are.

Same long strings. Different continent. Different accents.

The architects of disorder, whether in Washington, Tel Aviv, Brussels or Pretoria, share one remarkable quality. They all look genuinely surprised when the rest of us notice.