Tag: South Africa

Another White House Ambush

If you will recall one of the first leaders to come to DC and meet with Donny for talks was Ukraine’s Zelenskyy….and Donny turned it into ambush on ZMan for the cameras.

Well sports fans he made sure the cameras were rolling when the leader of South Africa came calling…..,and the stage was set for another ambush of an international leader.

“They say there’s a lot of bad things going on in Africa. And that’s what we’re going to be discussing today,” President Trump said at the start of his Oval Office meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday. Trump went on to claim that “genocide” was being committed in South Africa, with white farmers “executed” after having their land taken away. “I’d like to know where that is, because this I’ve never seen,” Ramaphosa said after Trump had the lights dimmed to show a video he said backed up the allegations, the Guardian reports. Trump also held up printouts of news stories, saying, “Death, death.” The BBC describes the playing of the video as an “ambush.”

According to the New York Times, members of the South African delegation, including golfer Ernie Els, “appeared flabbergasted as the video played.” The video showed the utterances, including “Kill the Boer,” of opposition politician Julius Malema, who has pushed for land expropriation. It also showed what Trump said were crosses marking the graves of thousands of white farmers. Ramaphosa calmly pushed back against the allegations, saying his minister of agriculture is white and “has joined my government at my invitation to address this very issue that you just raised.” South Africa has a high murder rate, but statistics show that white South Africans are not being killed at a higher rate than others.

The Times reports that Trump “appeared to calm down” after white South African billionaire Johann Rupert said “too many” people were being killed but “it’s not only white farmers” and US technology could help South Africa deal with the issue. Elon Musk was also present, but Trump said he didn’t want to get him involved. The BBC reports that the meeting—which some officials feared could have been an “unmitigated disaster”—was reminiscent of the Oval Office meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in February, but unlike the Ukrainian leader, Ramaphosa “did not lose his composure.” Ramaphosa repeatedly tried to steer the conversation toward trade. At one point, he quipped, “I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.” Trump replied, “I wish you did, I’d take it,” per the Hill.

It has been billed by the Trump group as “white genocide”.

Why lie, when you know the lie will be exposed as soon as you tell it? Because the lie is the point. The more blatant the lie, the more likely it will be repeated every time it is refuted. Repeat it enough times and the libel, no matter how vile, will stick with the audience you want to appease.

This explains the spectacle that unfolded in the White House this week, when Trump ambushed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a barrage of fake news stories and a manufactured video meant to advance the outrageous lie that black South African’s, with the connivance of the Republic of South Africa’s government, is engaged in a “white genocide” of Afrikaner farmers.

In his effort to humiliate South Africa’s president and portray himself as the champion of allegedly oppressed whites around the world, Trump went so far as to show photos of the burial site of black women who were raped and burned alive in the Congo and claimed it depicted the “burial site” of white farmers in South Africa.

It was all Elmo’s fault.

When the meeting inevitably blew up in Trump’s face, he tried to pin the entire White Genocide scam on Musk, who was standing at the back of the room: “Elon is from South Africa. I don’t want to get Elon involved. That’s all I have to do—get him into another thing. This is what Elon wanted.”

Like so much of Donny’s stuff it was a constructed lie….a lie about ‘white genocide’ and yet not a word about actual genocide going on under his watch….but I guess since they are brown people they are not nearly as important as fake whites.

This whole administration just keeps getting more and more phony.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Is Trump Pissed At South Africa?

More twisted brilliance from that ‘stable genius’….

Our by Donald seems to have a new target every day….he blasts out meaningless statements and moves on and his boot lickers clean up and define what he means….Rubio tried to ‘clear up’ Trump’s statements on Gaza…

Just temporary: Although the president advocated permanently resettling Palestinians elsewhere, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he only wants to move the roughly 1.8 million Gazans temporarily, so the reconstruction can take place. “In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it,” Rubio said.

Ownership: Rubio said Trump just wants to clear out and rebuild Gaza, not own it, though Trump had said his vision is for “long-term” US ownership. “What he’s very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction, the rebuilding homes and businesses and things of this nature so that then people can move back in,” Rubio said.

That was just to illustrate what I meant by walking back his statements (this will be an ever time thing)

Sorry about this is why Trump is pissed at South Africa….

Add South Africa to the list of nations in President Trump’s dog house. On Sunday, Trump threatened to cut off all aid to the nation after claiming it was confiscating land from farmers, which the South African government says is a distortion of the truth. Another wrinkle in the debate: Trump ally Elon Musk is a native of South Africa who accuses its government of racism against white people. Coverage:

  • Trump: South Africa “is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” the president wrote on Truth Social. As the Washington Post notes, “certain classes of people” in this context is widely interpreted to refer to white South Africans. “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
  • South Africa: “The South African government has not confiscated any land,” tweeted President Cyril Ramphosa in a lengthy reply. “The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.” He added that the only direct aid his nation gets from the US is through the (endangered) PEPFAR program, which accounts for 17% of South Africa’s HIV/AIDS program.
  • New law: The measure referenced by Ramphosa is one he signed into law last month that allows the government to confiscate land in rare cases, reports Reuters. No confiscations have taken place, and the New York Times reports that “analysts say there are many checks and balances in place to prevent abuse” by the government. Future confiscations, if allowed to stand, would likely involve land no longer in use.
  • Context: South Africa’s white government took land from the nation’s Black majority during its apartheid era through 1994, and the government has since sought to get land back in the hands of Black farmers through a “willing seller, willing buyer” system, per the AP and the BBC. The new law is an extension of this policy—which critics say is taking too long—and would likely face legal challenges should a confiscation be proposed.
  • Context II: White South Africans comprise 7% of the population, but white-owned farms occupy roughly half of the nation’s surface area, per the Times. Black residents still own only a “fraction” of the nation’s land, per CNN.
  • Musk: The Trump confidante replied to Ramphosa’s post thusly on his X platform: “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”

Seriously?

Trump is pissed because of South Africa is confiscating land?

But yet it is perfectly okay for Israel to do so in the West Bank.

Then his ‘aide’ Elmo is leading this charge….someone who has no idea what he is doing…..as usual.

I see the butt boy Rubio is as clueless as his master….

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is refusing to attend this month’s G20 meeting in South Africa, days after President Trump accused the country of “confiscating land” from white farmers. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa disputed the allegations, noting no private property has been expropriated (we have an explainer here), but Trump’s top diplomat doubled down on Wednesday. Rubio said he “will NOT” be in Johannesburg from Feb. 19 to Feb. 21, as “South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’

Rubio is an idiot and every time he opens his mouth he proves over and over.

There is NO consistency in this slow thinking dullard….and that will cost the US in the long run.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Variant (Oh Goody)

Just in time for the holiday season.

Here we go again…..another problem with the Covid thing….this time in South Africa

The world got an unwanted new arrival on Friday: Omicron. Here’s the latest on the worrisome new COVID variant:

  • New name: After an emergency review, the World Health Organization on Friday declared the emerging strain of COVID a “variant of concern,” reports the Washington Post. The variant, first detected in South Africa, was dubbed Omicron, named after a Greek letter in keeping with other variants such as Delta.
  • Travel restrictions: The US will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other African nations: Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi. The restrictions are to start Monday, reports Politico.
  • ‘Most worrying’: Much is unknown about the strain, but researchers fear its large number of mutations will help it spread easily and perhaps better evade vaccines. For now, the variant is the “most worrying we’ve seen,” says Susan Hopkins, an adviser to Britain’s Health and Security Agency. So far, no cases have been reported in the USFound in Europe: The first case of the new variant has been detected in Europe, adding to worries about how far the strain already has spread. The Guardian reports that Belgium confirmed a case of the variant in an unvaccinated woman with no travel links to South Africa or neighboring countries. Authorities say the woman developed mild symptoms 11 days after traveling from Egypt to Belgium via Turkey. The only other known cases outside southern Africa are in Israel, where a traveler who had returned from Malawi is now in isolation, and Hong Kong, where two travelers tested positive while in hotel quarantine.

  • Seeking answers: Fauci says the variant has more than 30 mutations to its spike protein, which “are raising some concern, particularly with regard to possibly transmissibility increase, and possibly evasion of immune response.” Fauci says officials have arranged talks Friday between American scientists and their South African counterparts. “We want to find out, scientist-to-scientist, exactly what is going on,” he says.

    Restrictions elsewhere: More than a dozen countries in Europe and Asia have halted or restricted travel from countries in southern Africa, and the European Commission has urged all EU members to put an “emergency brake” on travel, the New York Times reports. Earlier Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN that there is “no indication” the variant has arrived in the US, but “we’re rushing now to get that scientific data.”

And just in time for Christmas…..

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Be Well and Be safe

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

ZULU!

Back to some history……

What do you know about the nation of Zulu?

Probably you got your impression from the movie ZULU from 1964 with Michael Caine….or maybe you had a chance to watch the mini-series Shaka Zulu from 1986 starring Edward Fox……

This post is not some review of those two cinematic offerings…..just a few thoughts on the Zulu Nation.

How about a little history of the Anglo-Zulu Warm of 1879?

Few things that most people do not know about the Zulu……

1. In the war of 1879 the Zulus had more guns than the British. Unfortunately for them, most were obsolete muzzle-loaders with limited range and accuracy, and few men had the time or ammunition to practice shooting.

2. The Zulu army’s greatest weakness was its lack of a supply train. Warriors often went hungry unless they could capture food from the enemy. This is one reason why they were generally eager to attack.

3. The Zulus admired skill with words, and made up impromptu verses on the battlefield mocking their opponents and their weapons. This even applied to the British rocket batteries which were supposed to terrify “unsophisticated” enemies.

4. There was no retirement age in the Zulu army, and some of the reserve regiments in 1879 included men in their seventies. 

5. The Nguni cattle whose hides were used for shields came in over a hundred different colours and patterns, each with its own Zulu name. Each regiment was supposed to carry a distinctive colour of shield, but by 1879 shortages of cattle made this impractical.

6. There is often rivalry between different units in the same army, but the Zulus took this to extremes. A clash between two regiments in 1877 left at least seventy men dead. Fighting each other with clubs was acceptable; it was only when spears were used that the officers tried to break it up.

7. Zulus crouching behind their cowhide shields could be mistaken at a distance for grazing cattle – a fact that they took advantage of to trap a Boer commando in 1838.

8. According to the Boers the Zulus had once experimented with a cavalry arm. This was not a success as their horses, stolen from the Boers, stampeded in an attempt to re-join their friends on the other side.

9. Contrary to Victorian myth, the Zulus did not torture prisoners. In fact, they hardly ever took prisoners. The only soldier on the British side captured in 1879 (who was actually French) was interrogated and later released.

10. The Zulus were thought to be such good soldiers that in the 1890s the Germans and Belgians tried to recruit them into their own colonial armies. What they actually got was a collection of men from other ethnic groups who pretended to be Zulus in order to join up.

But this post is not some review of these two cinematic offerings…..nope this is about the real-life Zulu king…..

King Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu nation in South Africa has died in hospital where he was being treated for diabetes-related issues.

The king, 72, was the leader of South Africa’s largest ethnic group and an influential traditional ruler.

King Zwelithini was a direct descendent of King Cetshwayo, who led the Zulu nation during the war with the British in 1879.

Throughout his 50 year-reign he was a strong advocate for preserving cultural identity.

As custodian of Zulu traditions and customs, he revived many cultural practices

https://news.yahoo.com/zulu-king-goodwill-zwelithini-dies-072820135.html

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Karma Is Truly A Bitch

Closing Thought–09apr19

You got to love it when some a/hole gets his just desserts (no pun intended)…..

A big problem in Africa is poachers….those that kill animals for body parts they sell like ivory or rhino horn or a bladder or two……

I seem that Mother Nature is taking care of the poacher problem herself…….I wrote about it last year……https://lobotero.com/2018/07/07/now-thats-poetic-justice/

Sorry but that story made me chuckle a bit…..

Then over last weekend I read another story of Karma striking……

A poacher in South Africa in search of rhino horn instead brutally met his maker courtesy of a different beast altogether. As the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports, the unidentified man was hunting Tuesday with four other men when he was trampled by an elephant, then apparently eaten by a pride of lions. When park officials began searching for his remains, all they found was a pair of pants and a skull. “Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that,” says the preserve’s manager. “It is very sad to see the daughters of the deceased mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains.” The four surviving poachers have been charged

Once again a story that made me laugh out loud……and lions are cleaning up the mess……

See! Karma is truly a bitch!

Shaka Zulu

I was surfing through the terrible choice of TV channels looking for something anything that I could watch…..nothing jumped out to me until I came across a documentary on the South African king from the 18th century….Shaka Zulu……

I recall watching this documentary some 20-30 years ago and found it a fascinating look at the history of the British Empire and South Africa….

Shaka was a great Zulu king and conqueror. He lived in an area of south-east Africa between the Drakensberg and the Indian Ocean, a region populated by many independent Nguni chiefdoms. During his brief reign more than a hundred chiefdoms were brought together in a Zulu kingdom which survived not only the death of its founder but later military defeat and calculated attempts to break it up.

Shaka was a son of Senzangakhona, ruler of an insignificant small chiefdom, the Zulu. His mother was Nandi, the daughter of a Langeni chief. Information about Shaka’s early years is gleaned entirely from oral sources. It is claimed that Shaka was born into Senzangakhona’s household but that the couple were not yet married according to traditional custom. A more credible account is that the relationship between Nandi and Senzangakhona was illicit, and that Shaka was born in Langeni territory at the Nguga homestead of Nandi’s uncle. Shaka’s name is said to stem from Senzangakhona’s claim that Nandi was not pregnant but was suffering from an intestinal condition caused by the iShaka beetle. Despite his attempts to deny paternity, Senzangakhona eventually installed Nandi as his third wife. Shaka thus spent his earliest years at his father’s esiKlebeni homestead near present Babanango, in the hallowed locality known as the EmaKhosini or Burial-place of the Kings, where Senzangakhona’s forebears, the descendants of Zulu (Nkosinkulu), had been chiefs for generations. The relationship of Senzangakhona and Nandi seems to have been unhappy and ended in the chieftain driving Nandi from his court.

Source: Shaka Zulu | South African History Online

If one gets the chance to watch this documentary then I suggest you do so…..warning there is a lot of nudity but the historic content is just great.