[imagesource: Keanu Haumahu]

Remember those ‘Hell Ultra Shitty’ t-shirts made by Laugh It Off way back in the day?

If you have one gathering dust in the back of the cupboard then I suggest you dust it off.

Over the course of the past week, there has been a massive public backlash to Shell’s plans to carry out a seismic survey off the coast between Morgan Bay in the south and Port St Johns in the north from December 1.

The survey entails blasting soundwaves into the sea with air guns every 10 seconds for the next four to five months, which could have a crippling effect on the marine ecosystem in the area.

If you haven’t yet done so, make sure you sign this petition. Will it actually make a difference? Probably not, but at least we’re all shouting in the same direction.

There has also been talk of boycotting Shell service stations.

As the backlash continues, this cartoon from New Frame’s Carlos Amato just about sums it up:

Get the message, Shell?

Those opposed to the survey should also voice their concerns here.

The process is made easy via a step-by-step guide so get on this.

As of Tuesday, our concerns have been ‘noted’:

Moving on, we’ve become accustomed to a dysfunctional political system in this country.

With the ANC taking a hammering in the recent local elections, ‘coalition’ is very much the buzzword.

Deals have been made behind the scenes and the EFF’s decision to vote for the DA mayoral candidates in Jozi and Ekurhuleni is likely to lead to major changes in our politics going forward.

The party may have voted for those candidates. but showing support when it comes to governance is an entirely different beast.

As Zapiro pointed out in his most recent cartoon for The Daily Maverick, it’s less coalition and more collision:

To better understand why recent developments are so important, here’s an explainer via The Daily Maverick:

[The EFF’s votes in favour of DA candidates] may mark the end of the EFF and the ANC of Ramaphosa ever forming any kind of coalition. It could also be a final shift in the nature of our politics, where decisions are made solely for short-term gain, and sometimes to cause chaos…

As Professor Steven Friedman suggested on Tuesday morning, there has been a new level of almost deceit in our politics. He said that it now appeared that political parties would say something in public about who they would work with, and then not feel beholden to that in any way.

In other words, there has been the introduction of a new level of lying in our politics, which is likely to feed upon itself…

If parties cannot trust each other it may mean prolonged periods of no governance at all, with no proper direction for the country, or for provinces.

Instead of governing for the people, we’re looking at a situation where some parties will seek to render effective governance impossible in order to further their own agendas.

Just when you think it can’t get any worse…

[sources:newframe&dailymav&dailymav]