'Slaughter a Cow for the Workers'

OK, this South Africa World Cup is going to be a bit different.

In this story from The Sunday Times, of Johannesburg, we have the country's president, Jacob Zuma, insisting the country is ready for the 2010 World Cup.

He boasts that many world leaders have congratulated him on just how well things are going. Including Barack Obama.

Even though, clearly, several stadiums are not yet complete. Including the one in Durban that Zuma was visiting.

And, at the end, to give you an idea of the culture gap between South Africa and, say, the First World ... Zuma is paraphrased as asking the mayor of the city of Durban to "slaughter a cow for the workers when they finish building the Moses Mabhida stadium."

Hmm. This is not going to be like any World Cup before it. As if we hadn't already figured that out.