Zuma State of Nation cartoon

Zuma State of Nation

Jacob Zuma State of the Nation 2010

If you’re living in South Africa and haven’t heard Jacob Zuma singing his controversial Umshini Wami song (Bring me my machine gun) you have missed quite an amazing spectacle. As this is mostly an English language blog, Wonkie would like to convey the meaning of KHAWULETH UMDZIDZI WAMI – the latest remix version of the song for the 2010 national speech. Wonkie thought Bring me my Buttocks is possibly a much more appropriate anthem for President Zuma given his recent headlines in the news.

Wonkie decided to deliberately publish this cartoon before President Zuma’s actual State of the Nation address that will happen later this evening. Over the last few weeks, President Zuma’s inappropriate behaviour has clouded other more important issues that the country is facing: unemployment; soaring crime; corruption; HIV/ AIDS; the rise of xenophobic violence once again; riots because of little improvement in service delivery in many areas – to mention but a few of the issues.

But is the State of the Nation really that bad? Wonkie is interested in your thoughts and views – the only request we make is that each person that comments on today’s post make AT LEAST ONE POSITIVE COMMENT about what’s GOOD in South Africa and what the country is getting right in addition to any other thoughts they might have. If you really can’t find at least one good thing to say then perhaps you really should consider your options.

If you’re interested in some bedtime reading, you can find the full text of the 2010 State of the Nation here.

Click HERE to leave your COMMENT on THE STATE OF THE NATION

.
Alexander Forbes


.
Tea and Coffee Emporium - South Africa


.
Click here for the best ONLINE CASINO SOUTH AFRICA Offers

.

Click HERE to leave your COMMENT on THE STATE OF THE NATION

.

Bleh!2 Stars3 Stars4 StarsAwesome! (11 raters, Click a star a star to rate this article)
Loading...


Comments

  1. I know there are lots of things that are wrong with the government of the country at the moment, but it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. We have lots of natural resources ( including the majority of our people), and with the right leadership we could go really far as an example of a developing nation.

  2. At least the roads are being improved – that’s my one positive comment.

    The rest leaves much to be desired – I think the State of the Nation is pretty deranged right now otherwise.

  3. as a nation lets come together to make more babies in the new family structure.5 wives +- 20 kids-khawulethu umdzizi wami AWE

  4. If he is honest, it should be the shortest State of the Nation address since 1994: ” Ladies and gentlemen in today’s State of the Nation address I am glad to report that the Nation is in one hell of a state. Thank you!”

  5. vilakazi khaphata says

    i think RSA.S moral has gone far beyond our africa respect. is this democracy or religion?

    kute bunftu kulesive. Sesifike lapho kutakulwa tinhlanga talelive.

  6. It is raining Zumas

  7. One for you, 32 for me. Why?????

  8. What a beautiful country we got, it can be even better if the right principles and leadership is applied. It is just a pity that Zuma will wake up too late.
    Jacob wake up now.

  9. What did you expect, from a nation that sold their brothers into slavery.
    As to honouring women what better to honour a woman than by giving her a hard on!
    Have you noticed that the weather has been cursed for 20 years.
    Sterilisation at birth is the answer for all non arians, Hitler was right in some ways.
    Bring back the HIACE
    High
    Impact
    African
    Culling
    Equipment

  10. i tink de country is lost as whole because ppl all of them they luk at thier own intrest including zuma his just a boy

  11. I think water and electricity have supply have improved aspecialy in rural areas. The only major problem in our Beloved country is unemployment, which i think the government cnt single handedly over come it.

  12. With great luck S.A. is being allocated the privilege of hosting the 2010 Soccer world cup.It has promted the local authorities to attempt to get their act together.This is good.However I think it kind of stops about there.
    I was listening to SAFM last week and a few highly educated people were bemoaning the fate of S.A.’s education department.
    Sadly,It would appear that about half of our citizens from 35 years downwards,have virually no valid education which in turn means that it is unlikely that they have ever worked and more than likely will never be employable in any meaningful manner.Yet they are breeding like flies and passing on the legacy of dullness and ignorance.
    This is an enormous population of voters who,in their cluelessness,are keeping the ANC in power to their own impoverishment.What hope can this poor country have with an irresponsible and highly suspicious character like Jacob Zuma at the helm…and voted overwhelmingly there.
    This does not reflect an intelligence in the voters at all.His corruption case evasion did not fool anyone,anywhere,certainly not the rest of the world and this leaves a blot on our consciences but the ignorant don’t want to be honest.I think only with Gods help can this country have a chance to improve.I doubt it ever will under the ANC.Their morals,in general,would not stand up to the strain.They are nothing less than a disgusting bunch,from the top and all the way down.

  13. we need to have serous actions of rural development. the roads and water supply is a disaster. bursaries for students. nationalisation of mines and national health insurence.VIVA SA viva

  14. Hastheworldgonecrazy... says

    Please step down, JZ. Before the whole country dies of embarrassment! You have become a joke, and have made SA the laughing stock of the world! (I think even Bob Mugabe is cringing!)
    SA is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and we have produced one of the most beautiful people in the world, one of the most evolved, intelligent, compassionate, forgiving people the world has ever known – our Beloved Madiba. I also believe that we are possibly the only country in the world where Black, White, Coloured, Indian actually live together in relative love and harmony. I am honoured to be a part of this incredible country.

  15. Amazing people in an amazing country. If only we had leaders with moral integrity.[please someone explain to ANC what that means) All the undereducated under 35 years olds are the fault of the ANC. In the eighties the kids were taught to put freedom before education and burn schools. Since ’94 the education standard has gone down the drain, like everything else. The sooner we see JZ’s backside, the better. I for one will not be listening to his STATE THE NATION IS IN address. It was not written by him anyway and it will just be a lot of hot air.

  16. Viagra is freely available in South Africa -a positive comment if you want to save the rhino.Then again more Chinese are coming here,with their money,for what ever mr Zuma is using.

  17. News flash – Februrary 11th :- Today, a creche is to be made available for all ‘take home to work’ parliamentarians. This progressive new approach in our, still very young, democracy will lighten the, oh so heavy, load carried by our belovered leaders. This inovative service will be met with much dancing, hand clapping and singing by our elected president. Julius Malema has volinteered to look over the little ones as he has much experiance in dealing with the children in the ANCYL. While Julius entertains his ever growing flock, he will every now and then blurt out a randomly selected prize quote from his vast selection of drivel. As the prossedings today are to be held way beyond any seasoned politician’s bed time, Julius is sure to keep them awake.
    Be sure to watch SABC 2 tonight from 18h00.
    Too bad! I’m going to miss 7de Laan tonight.

  18. Oupa is a good reason for devil worshipping to be banned.

  19. Andrew Schaffner says

    We have been blessed with good rainfall in the eastern regions of SA .

  20. [Deleted by moderators – racist remarks]

  21. You guys have a beautiful country with great leaders that the worl admires. How I wish your President followed Mandela’s footsteps. Pray to God give him wisdom !

  22. Sorry guys racist remarks will not be blatently used again!
    Have we all just emerged from the bush recently.
    The nation is in a shambles come down to the Eastern Cape and see our roads; surprisingly [or not so]Eastern Cape is the homepaddock/zoo/gamefarm of many of our politicians.
    We are employeeing & putting people who have not been created to lead in managment positions and admittedly they are surprised when they are appointed as they know that they fulfill the minimun requirements.
    The only awards we can give the top dogs is Bribery and corruption awards; even then they’d have to hold a [100day] Umizo to decide which person other than our fornicating president or the idiot leader of the ANCYL deserves a Gold Medal

  23. Marie Antoinette looked as if she lost her head because of the peasants loss of faith in the system that always left them with nothing – but it was actually the Inteligencia in France that used the peasants to get the deed done…… Bob still has his wooly one because the Inteligencia have all left Zim ………..Thank goodness there are still Inteligencia in this wonderful country……… so it might take time – but it WILL happen ! We just have a lot more heads that need to be gotten rolling………………..along with the one with the shower on top !!

  24. I have a stud bull. He services 30 cows.
    I have a State President ……………….
    There does not seem to be a problem with “service delivery”! (Positive)

  25. higher education thats the one great thing in sa and its free the only promise those fat twarts decided to keep

  26. I so wish dt our president could stop pregnanting women outside of marriage,and ffocus on te crucial issues such as nationalism and staff

  27. BAD POINTS: Government is propogating Apartheid in reverse with BEE and Affirmative Action. It is hight time we became ONE nation in the eyes of the Government.
    Crime is rife and getting worse. The only solution is harsher sentences. “Let the punishment fit the crime”
    All criminals should be treated equally without favouritism for the wealthy or those in high positions, especially in Government.
    Unemployment is tragic. The Government can improve things but they don’t.
    GOOD POINTS: Government Departments are respecting the elderly and pushing them to the front of long queues. Three cheers.
    Our sportsmen are excelling, except for soccer.
    Our major roads are being vastly improved at last.
    Black and white children are becoming good friends at school.

  28. Pule Malefane says

    The state of the nation address should be understood in context as it is different from a policy pronouncement where the state tables its plans and a budget to carry out those plans.If we read too much on the President’s address we might be dissapointed if we raise our expectations too high,forgetting that there is going to be a crucial moment where the Minister of Finance will be tabling his budget that will give us a sense on what the state has prioritised given its limited resources.

  29. He Just need to fear God, that’s all i can say.

  30. Looks like Oupa is worth deleting from the country. If there is ONE reason why there is a curse ANYWHERE it is because of the Gestapo, Nazism and all the filthy sponsoring that it gets from its Illuminati masters based, not in Africa, but in the same Europe that claims that Aryans are IT.

    For now, I’d say the privilege to sing “Umshini wami” PROPERLY is one huge positive in this country. Personally, I thought that it had already been remixed with its original lyrics, except that the lyrics had to be applied figuratively. With Zuma’s machine gun mowing down all the women’s ova around him, who’s to prevent him from singing that dastardly song all over again?

    Now I hear that The Star has traced two more of Zuma’s bastards by some wealthy woman somewhere in KZN. For all we know, all the street children out there could possibly claim Zuma paternity, who knows?

    Eish!

  31. What is good about SA? The Credit Act. This single act prevented banks from lending money to risky borrowers. In the past banks were always conservative but when Bill Clinton started facilitating the lending of money to NINJA (No Income No Job or Assets) borrowers, the writing was on the wall. The banks went ahead because they were earning Huge bonuses. This lead to the world-wide financial woes. South Africa, because of the Credit Act, was saved from the worst effects. Congratulations to Trevor Manuel and his team.

  32. The President of South Africa makes love not war!

  33. The roads are NOT being improved, except maybe one or two leding to a soccer stadium. The roads in our town are in shambles, so are the roads at Bethlehem, Harrismith, etc.

    I Think Zuma is a disgrace to this beautiful nation, and he needs to repent of his wicked ways and start setting an example.

  34. The state of the nation……what state or what nation?

    I wonder why it’s called a speach….Verwoerd was the last one who delivered a speach; after vorster and his vd berg gang had him killed, they all had a piece of paper and then they read their “speach” and since 94 there was nobody who could even read properly and because of the “state of the nation”‘s education department. the speach-readers will just get fewer

    The most important event 2nite will be when zuma and mandela have a dansing session together…

    Tanni, it no use explaining anything to the ANC, just get somebody else to vote for next time…. just like satan can’t turm himslef into God, same way the ANC morons can’t turn themselves into thinking humans

  35. it was an embarrassment being a south african during apartheid – its even a bigger embarassment now with our current crop of leaders old and young – i don’t think we should call them leaders but just a bunch of opportunists ,denialists
    sex crazed maniacs and money mongers

  36. We could do a lot worse, at this critical moment in our Nation’s history … than to turn to the Elders of our Nation for help and assistance.

    Think back to 1994. It was an era of reconciliation, of pride in the Rainbow Nation, of wonderful dreams of a better tomorrow.

    Sadly our Nation’s great heroes of that era have been replaced by interlopers who have no right to even share a page in the history books. Our new ‘heroes’, it seems, dream only dreams of self-benefit and self-gratification.

    As a Nation we once stood proud. Thinking back did we truly honour those great men and women as they so richly deserved. We should read there names like a Roll of Honour. Sadly many have already left us, but Great Heroes like Madiba, Tutu, Ramaphosa, Slabbert, DE Klerk still survive.

    Think about it for a second … 2010 is a pivotal moment in our country’s history. We have been granted a unique opportunity to emerge on the Global Stage once more as a Winning Nation.

    And even the fattest of thise bloated Fat Cats has to admit … we’re blowing it.

    We are screwing it up, big time.

    How many of you, my fellow citizens, can, in all honestly, still claim to still feel their hearts choked with that same kind of National Pride as we rise to sing our National Anthem, a few short years later?

    And how is it possible for a once Proud Country to go from being a role model for the world and a beacon of light for every divided society around the globe … to being a skunk and polecat – all in just 16 short years?

    It’s a hard thing to ask anyone in the twilight of their years, but what option do we really have, fellow South Africans?

    As scripture says, old men must have visions so that young men can dream.

  37. Falconian
    Who would this “elders” be? Just another liar from the past who advertised themselves as leaders on the lamp posts of our streets during election time?

    Christ explained more than what most even can imagine the time He walked between us. One of it is that the mojority always ask that the killer be released between them and that the Saviour be crucified. When Pontius pilate asked who he should release for them, they chose the killer! The majority did it then and will be doing so always! That’s the foolishness of democracy!

  38. The goverment has far managed to assit previously disadvantaged communities with electricity and roads constraction.Further more communities has been empowered to start different projects to help aleviate poverty in their neighbourhood.

  39. I think who ever wrote his speech tried to cover every aspect of his liking but neglected to tell us how far did he achieve on creating 500k jobs he promised the masses.
    He mentions economical turnaround but he forgot to tell us the recession will only be gone in 2-3 years from now. I feel this was one of those feel good speeches his advisers wrote for him and can someone do something about his presentation style it`s like reading to the nation there is no vuma in what he says if ur listening to him he does not put emphasis on key words or put energy on what he says. It`s not what u say but how u say it..

  40. Hastheworldgonecrazy... says

    Dirk. You and I need to have a discussion on religion. You are so full of it! You think because you’ve scanned through the Bible, and probably go to Church a couple of times per week (marinading in God’s love and all that.), that you’re above everyone else, that you’re a righteous person, and I’m sure you think your seat on the bus to heaven is waiting for you. Why do you have to bring religion into everything? Wonkie asked for a comment on Zuma (positive or negative) and one POSITIVE comment on our beautiful country. I and just a few others actually complied!
    The scary thing about you, Dirk, is that you are an out and out racist! And, no! I am NOT Black! I am proudly White, just as my lovely next door neighbours are proudly Black, and the sweet, gentle folk across the street are proudly Indian! Africa is a mysterious, harsh and beautiful continent, and South Africa a truly amazing country, inhabited by truly amazing people of ALL colours! And if you truly believe in God (I don’t! No proof whatsoever!), you would have to accept the fact that he made ALL mankind “in his own image”, ALL the different peoples of the Earth, from the Koi San to the Japanese!

  41. WITH MY UNDERSTSNDING I THINK THE PRESIDENT HAVE DELIVERED A GOOG SPEACH AS FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN CITIZEN , I DONT THONK HE MUST PLEASE THE OPPOSITION PATIES AS THEY HAVE DEFFERRENT POLICIES AND IDEAS WELL DONE FOR YOUR SPEACH PRESIDENT ZUMA

  42. BIG Hand clap for the reply from Hastheworld….etc, to Dirk!
    Quite a few of the replies missed the message of sending a “positive” thing about this fantastic country that is suffering from an infestation of roaches and rats. We just need to find the correct tin of Doom or Target or a Pied Piper and all will be well and good again. Nothing can destroy those mountains – those views – and the wonderful people that are living here.

  43. Hastheworldgonecrazy…
    One thing you fail to do is to come up with something that prove me wrong. Another thing is that God created everything around us ( you included ) and He once came to this planet to explain couple of things…you also fail to prove Him wrong….yes, you sure seem to be part of that world that went crazy.

    micheyp,

    I tried my best to find something positive without becomming a typical englishspeaker liar…but that was impossible to find something good to say about this circus without becomming a liar!
    You refered to “all the wonderful people that live here”….were you refering to the handfull of rightwingers? They are the only few “wonderful people” that I know off…I don’t regard the leftwing idiots as wonderful as they wanted this circus and neither do I experience the criminals or this corrupt government with it’s supporters as wonderful.

    joe
    This government mannaged nothing but stealing and corrupting everthing they touched. Thay never advantaged any of the disadvanteged….only a few of their already advantaged corrupt friends are now more advantaged than before, nobody else – lots of us and I live here and see what is happening around us..who are you trying to mislead? My eyes tell me that EVERYBODY except a few corrupt bastards close to government, are worse-off than what they’ve been before 1994! You sound like zuma himself, you also must be able to lie to yourself! NOTHING got better..only the potholes in the roads got deeper and wider and maybe a few motor repairers are better off because of the damage the potholes cause to the general public!

    JUSTIN

    Zuma did not deliver a speach…he was reading from a piece of paper..that’s not a speach…with Afrikaans, we call that a “voorlesing” and if by now you have not yet learned that he would read out anything you wanna hear (without having the slightest idea how he is going to bring that about) in order to tickle your ears, you will, like Ian Smith said, not learn anything in a thousand years!

  44. ………………………………………… at 61 years of age, and avid reader, this is the first ime I have read anything from a black journalist,
    that acknowledges and attributes any value that whites have contributed to civilised values and love of humanity of ALL colors and creeds

    Is that not what Jesus taught …….??

    The closest I ever heard, was an Afro American in the United States, telling his fellow Afro Americans to stop hiding behind old cliche’s, of the historically “disadvantaged” and use some INITIATIVE

    This was written by a black journalist who writes under the name ‘Loose Canon’ for the “Sunday Standard’, a newspaper in Botswana. Makes one think???

    The following is an article that appeared in The Sunday Standard (Botswana) of 24.01.10. Loose Canon contributes regularly to newspapers.

    I hope black people will learn a lesson from the earthquake that hit Haiti. If they don’t learn anything from it, then I throw up my hands in despair and give up.

    Let’s start with a few basic facts. Until the earthquake, I never knew there was a place called Haiti I was taught geography at school but I cannot remember a time when the mistress told us about Haiti. It must have been one of those insignificant countries that we had no reason to know about.

    I was fairly good at geography because I knew which country was on which continent. I also knew many capital cities. But as for Haiti I was clueless.

    Now the whole world, including myself, knows about Haiti. I heard news of the earthquake on the radio. I wondered where Haiti was and what sort of people lived there. Finally, when I switched on the television, I was informed that Haiti is an island out in the Caribbean. Television pictures revealed a place populated by black people.

    From the non-stop television coverage of the earthquake, I got to learn about the history of Haiti It was not a good history lesson. It would seem throughout its existence Haiti has suffered a series of natural calamities. In the process it has sunk even deeper into poverty and deprivation. Like all places populated by black people, Haiti is poor. As I watched the television images, I felt very sorry for that forsaken place.

    Then I was hit by a thunderbolt. I wondered what if there were no white people. You see, when the earthquake hit Haiti somebody had to come to its assistance. There had to be a rescue effort. The Haitians who survived of course did their fair bit by digging out their families from the collapsed ramshackle buildings.

    But such was the scale of the devastation and the loss of human life that a bigger effort was needed. For that sort of work, you need heavy lifting gear and other sophisticated rescue equipment. I have been following the story of the earthquake keenly. I can attest to the fact that the first people to arrive with sniffer dogs were white crews from all over the world.

    The aeroplanes that set off carrying water and food were from white countries. Not only that, the teams of volunteer doctors that I saw on television comprised white people from across the world. As the sniffer dogs went into action, the organized rescue teams that carried the stretchers were made up of white people.

    It was announced that a mobile hospital was on the way. It was coming from a white country. For all intents and purposes in the aftermath of the earthquake, Haiti was literally swarming with white people. They had all arrived to save the poor blacks. And the locals were so happy to see them.

    Granted there were teams from the Orient such as the Chinese and Japanese. They too had quickly left their homes and families to go and assist the stricken people of Haiti. It is obvious to everyone that this was a devastating earthquake and the work to repair Haiti and return it to a modicum of normalcy will take many years. Somebody had to commit funds to this effort. Most of the countries that have committed funds to aid the recovery are white. In fact, it would seem the whites are running the show in Haiti.

    What is my point?

    My point is that ever since Haiti was hit by the earthquake I have not seen any of my folks from Africa.

    Unless the television cameras deliberately ignored them, I never saw a rescue team from my motherland. Nor did I see any sniffer dogs from down here. Heck, I never saw a single traditional doctor busy divining where to find people buried under the rubble.

    Haitiis a land of black people. I would have expected the place to be swarming with black people helping their own. They were nowhere to be seen. I never saw any ships from black countries pulling into the harbour.

    As the air traffic circled above the small airport, none of the planes was reported as coming from Africa. The blacks were nowhere to be found. They issued tepid statements of condolence to the people of Haiti and a few of the African countries donated small amounts of cash.

    Granted that was better than nothing. But I must say I was disappointed. I was sad because the blacks did not behave as I had expected.

    You see, for far too long black countries have been insolent to the point of being abusive. They have a tendency of insulting the white man and telling him to keep out of their countries. In Fact, black people have the temerity to tell white people they can perfectly survive on their own

    So I had expected the black countries to be consistent and behave true to form. Why didn’t black countries tell white countries to stay away from Haiti because we were quite capable of leading the rescue effort? We should have insulted them as we often do at international forums.

    There, our countries insult white countries and accuse them of imperialism and neo colonialism. I was extremely disappointed when our countries failed to accuse white people of practicing imperialism and neo colonialism by coming to rescue the blacks of Haiti

    We should have told them we have better sniffer dogs that have been taught only to rescue black people. We should have told their ships to stay away and their planes not to overfly Haiti because we were up to the job with our own ships and aeroplanes.

    We should have brought in our traditional food instead of the strange rations the Haitians are not accustomed to.

    I am so disappointed by the black leaders that I hope never to hear them again bleating about how bad white people are. The earthquake in Haiti was the most opportune time to show the whites, once and for all, that we don’t need them.

    From now onwards, I want black leaders to shut up and never accuse ever again, white people of being bad. I am sick and tired of big words such as imperialism and neo colonialism which are unable to rescue victims of the earthquake.

    I hope this is not the last earthquake that hits a black country. I want the next one to specifically hit the residence of The Evil Self-centred Old Man in Harare, Zimbabwe who does nothing for his people. Then we will see if he will abuse the white crew coming to rescue him and his wife Ghastly Grace!

    Please refer to the York Timbers e-mail disclaimer which can be found at: http://www.york.co.za/ss/email.asp

  45. Dirk….sorry Boet that you are so upset……I have as much Afrikaans blood as English by the way. My Ouma was a v.d. Merwe……All I meant was that this was supposed to be for “positive” comments and we have all seemed to get stuck with the bad ones that are coming through thick and fast.
    I know we all see the bad in huge chunks because it IS bad in huge chunks – but that’s because of the cockroaches I was talking about.
    If we just find the right way to get rid of them, then there ARE very good people here and the country IS wonderful and mountains ARE great.

  46. SCRIBE

    I’ve had that one from loose canon about a week now…wanted to post it here but did not just because i know that most people here would believe that i made it up myself! OK, loose canon did miss something..there was a plane full of helpers from africa…the mission from south africa but I am afraid the mission did not represent the nation as we have millions of blacks here and just a couple of whites…the south african mission to haiti ….were there any blacks between them?
    Yes, Jesus did teach to love all nations and the ones to take note of that are the murderous masses here in africa! Whites don’t run around killing everything they see and also don’t believe that they will have “bad luck” when passing something and letting it live! Those kind of attitudes are strickly from the black man, be it haiti or be it africa! ( not racist, just a fact!)
    One thing, Jesus did not teach us to love foolishness/evilness/magic/vudu/good luck/gambling/getting drunk/etc. 😉

    micheyp

    All the cockroaches I have ever seen had a very dark hue! ( never seen a white one before 😉 )

    O yes, my dog is wonderful and is right here in this country with me….that was something positive but has nothing to do with the state of the nation…. I am afraid, I just can’t find something positive to say about the state of the nation

  47. Dirk…….I can see that you are going to stay tense & verkramp no matter what gets said…….just cuddle your dog and love him to bits and teach him to eat “cockroaches…..! Even a white one if he finds it……….

  48. uhm….our roads are being improved???
    but is this our LEADER????who has no morals???

  49. micheyp,

    You don’t see nothing! You are far too blind! In the first place, I am not tense or upset or verkramp! It’s you brainless english who are verkramp! I chalenge you to come up with JUST ONE prediction made by the so called “verkramptes” that did not come true!

    Your english dream of some kind of a ” bastard rainbow-nation paradise” did not come true and never will come true! Looking at the facts, calling the enlightened ones “verkramptes” only puts the seal on it that you’re a liar!

    Talking about cockroaches, somebody who spend a year on that island called england, told me that cockroaches are english pets – there was not one house over there that did not have a few thousand of them…but that’s not all…I watched another englishman and his english girlfriend in Alberton frying a couple of cockroaches that drowned in the oil of the frying pan (they never washed for about six months) with the “pork sosages” they had morning afternoons and evenings! They were frying their pork ( something so bad that a human should not even eat it) and cockroach stirfry until six months later, nothing was left of the cockroaches! (have to say, that explained a hell of a lot to me…it helped me understand why the english and africans feel at home with one another!) So, not only are cockroaches and english pet, it also seems to be an english delicasy! 😉

  50. pikes

    Good point Pikes! To a president with a dick looking for a hole all the time more, bigger, deeper potholes in a black tar road must have some sex apeal and look like some improvement! 😀

  51. zandisile mdla says

    South Africa is doing very well under the leadership of uMSHOLOZI we as children wedo nt havr to look at the privecy of our parence (father) remind our celves about Clinton –Dp — Bush —Irag ?

  52. Zandisile Mdla: you seem to be either seriously under-age or grossly naive. You would know better, but where were you born for you to comment so naively?

    For one thing, to say Msholozi is doing well requires that we have a standard against which we measure him, a standard that is NATIONAL (if not INTERNATIONAL) and not personal. Else, if you’re talking about Msholozi in your bedroom, then I would understand. With that in mind, what standard have you used to rightly show that Msholozi has moved this country from Point A (a low mark on the standard) to Point B (a higher mark than Point A on the standard)?

    Lastly, ALL normal humans are aware that all people, particularly children like you and me, learn by EXAMPLE. While parents are good at telling children what to do (or NOT to do), the fact of the matter is, in the parents’ absence, and sometimes in their presence, children simply emulate what their parents do. This is how humanity transmits values and lessons: by example.

    Msholozi failed this test (of example) before he even began. 🙁 Eish!

  53. Dirk……..dis treurig dat jy so bitter is….Alles uit jou mond kom klink asof jy ook aan die kakkelakke olie gebraaide vark worsies ge-eet het …….waar is die Kristelikke geloof wat jy se jy het ?
    Dis wat jou moed moet inpraat, dat alles SAL regkom al neem dit langer as wat enige een van ons sou gewens het dit sal neem……..Hoe lank het Moses nie rond gevandel ? Ons het onder die Nasionale Party 42 jaar gely voor die ANC – miskien is dit dat ons nog 27 jaar moet wag voordat die skale egalig is en dan sal geregtigheid trots met n Party wat van die betere mense in SA georginiseer is………… Nog n ding – hoe op aarde het jy n hele maand gesit en kyk hoe twee mal mense sulke kos ge-eet het ? Engels of te nie…… Sies man !

  54. I think we should all drink a little more wine. Just a tad, and smile.

  55. …….now that’s the best idea yet !!! Yay Juz…!

  56. Zandisile – HUH???!!!! WOOOOOt???? LOL!!!!!!!!!
    dirk, yeah……it’s PATHETICALLY sad…..jeeeeeeeeez.
    Nda…..yes, our kids ARE the future and learn by EXAMPLE….and I must say what “FINE” (and this is SARCASM) examples this country has for the kids……..

  57. We live in the most beautiful country with the friendliest people BUT the president is a disgrace to himself and the entire country. His State of the Nation adress was badly read – and had no substance. I wish he would admit his failings and let somebody else -(with morals) take over

  58. @ Star…..I SOOOOOO second that!!!! Puh-lease!!!!! and makin comments on INTERNATIONAL tv bout “taking a shower”….omw!!!! and then there was (I still think this is classic) the “beetroot” comment, LOL!!!!!!! OMW!!!!!

  59. micheyp

    Duidelik is jy geen christen nie want dan sou jy weet dat dit ‘n leuen uit die hel is dat christene altyd soos leuenaars almal met die heuning kwas om die mond moet verf! As jy iemand wat ‘n graaf ‘n graaf noem bitter noem, is jy net so siek soos die heidene wat die land in die afgrond in regeer~! Daar is nie EEN Skrif wat my beveel om mense se gevoelens hoer as die waarheid te ag nie…
    Nee ek het nie gekyk hoe hulle eet nie..net so nou en dan in hulle vuil pan wat altyd op die stoof bly staan het gekyk wat van hulle kakkerlakke oorgebly het en dan het ek en my goeie Boere er vriend net gesmile vir die neus-in-die-lug vuilgatte! (een ding van engelse en amerikaners…hulle glo vas die res van die aardbewoners dink hulle is vreeslik smart!)
    Die NP het niemand behalwe die terroriste sleg behandel nie! (ek het die HNP ondersteun in elk geval omdat ek reeds die sewentigs geweet het dat ons gaan wees waar ons vandag is..op die pad die afgrond in!)
    Laastens, vriend, niks sal beter word nie want die Bybel se duidelik dat alles net slegter en boser gaan word en met heiden-mense wat ‘n gemiddelde IK van net 70 het aan die stuur van sake, is daar nie ‘n sneeubal se hoop in die hel dat dinge beter gaan word nie – wees realisties! Van Moses gepraat, God seg dat hy die sagmoedigste man op die hele aarde was, tog het hy telkens in gloeiende toorn van farao af weg gestap en hom met plae en pes getref! Ek doen die selfde – ek vervloek hierdie regeering se faksies, roep onheil en onrus onder hulle uit want hulle is nog boser en onregverdiger as die farao met wie Moses te doen gehad het!

    Hastheworldgonecrazy, I have mentioned a few times to you that I am not religious, do not “go to church” as all so-called churches/religions are the anti-Christ and the synagogue of satan committing adultery with the leaders of darkness of this world…..yet, I can’t wait to get into a debate with you on this matter..the question is, where shall we do that?

  60. At least we can type & have access to Wonkie.
    Let’ get back to work now: Enough said unless there are comments from overseas. we are all stuck with eachother like those Dandelions on my lawn. South Africa is such a cool place and I would not like to spend my holidays anywhere else. Corruption sucks but it seems that is the norm nowadays. I notice in the Eastern Cape they are giving people a torch & aT-shirt to parade at spectator parks yet they cannot arrest wrongdo-ers! Why bother, are there any sensible and I note sensible comments out there to halt crime. If I was a community I would love to be armed but what if I’ve got agripe with that noisy chap whose dog irritate me……..mmmm….:-)…?

  61. Oupa……uhm….ja….i guess ja…..errrrrr…..yup 🙂

  62. oupa
    The only commend I have on crime is to do away with this rediculous affirmative action and get the (white) police back that was once there when we had one of the best police forces in the world!
    How can you expect to fight crime with a police force of lazy and super-stupid criminals as officers?
    After the first ANC parlaiment most of the ornaments were stolen! Such criminal idiots in the position of minister will not want a good police force as m ost of them will end up in jail!
    And then oupa, what do you expect the overseas people to comment on? They have no idea who mr. black is in the first place and secondly can’t even imagine that a whole race/tribe/nation/continent’s people could be so absolutely useless/corrupt in everything they do…sorry I mean everything they TRY doing!

  63. the adress was fine and to the point, very clear all what we need to do is wait for the ministers to unpack and deliver the mandate. those who still question the speech let them watch the space as they could hear rather see what the president meant. sorry it never came your way but fact is the speech is delivered and we welcome it, there will always be those who critisize but hey, this is South African you know! freedom of speech.

  64. The speech was an uninspiring as the man himself. Charming, and many empty promise but not nearly as statesman like as Madiba The kind of glatbek that you don’t inviate to yoour home lest he corner your wife or daughter, in a moment when you are not watching !! I can do no better than quote the brilliant article written by Gareth van Onselen, who beautifully expressed how all South Africans and patriots feel, about our beautiful country, and lack lustre leadership !

    Zuma’s grasping in the dark
    Gareth van Onselen
    17 February 2010

    Gareth van Onselen says the president took the wariest way in his SONA

    “But if a man cannot obtain to that judgment, then it is left to him generally to be close, and a dissembler. For where a man cannot choose, or vary in particulars, there it is good to take the safest, and wariest way, in general; like the going softly, by one that cannot well see.”

    Francis Bacon [1561-1626]; Of Simulation and Dissimulation

    Like a blind man feeling his way in the dark, says Bacon, is the man who cannot distinguish those moments which necessitate the facts be laid out to bear, from those which require they be held close, unarticulated, even unidentified. For if one lacks the skill to distinguish between those two moments, one’s language too is inevitably indistinguishable, vague and general; because purpose relies on particulars just as intent relies on action, without them, each is reduced merely to rhetoric, nothing more than the tentative outstretched hand of a man who cannot see one step in front of him.

    Every year the President is required to put before the country the details, the particulars, the evidence that best describes the state of the nation and his argument for its future. It is an occasion which necessitates the facts be laid out to bear, not by choice but as a duty to those to whom such an account is addressed. And yet, in recent times, it is a rare thing for this foundational speech to be defined by any real attempt to place before the people, with accuracy and veracity, the true nature of things. For to articulate the extent of the decay, even once due regard has been paid to progress, would be to map a frightful picture; and so, faced with Bacon’s choice, the safest and the wariest way is almost always chosen, and the vague and the general becomes the status quo.

    There is, at the heart of this attitude, a speech; a simple text written for this purpose. And so it is worth dedicating, I believe, some small attention to writing and to try, at least in general terms, to understand what differentiates the dull and lifeless nature of formless generality, from the magnetic pull of a powerfully structured argument. Because the rules that should define a good argument are foreign to much of our public debate, a symptom of the choice described above; it is driven primarily by emotion and raw desire, rather than by any considered application of the facts, and this is to our detriment, for the effect is insidious and the consequences profound. If we are to counter it, then, it is important that we recognise this habit for what it is.

    Emotion has a part to play in any piece of writing, it is rhetoric’s lifeblood, giving it colour and imagination; but unchecked it becomes superficial, unreasonable, incoherent. And here evidence and logic have a role to play, they are the parameters that should guide one’s emotional drive through an argument, correcting its course when it strays and bolstering its strength when it is legitimate.

    And, if emotion is the driving force behind an argument and logic and evidence its map book, then language is its infrastructure: the hard material with which one’s intent is built. All four of these components are critical and each one draws its strength from the other. An original argument is borne of a particular disposition and its power derived from one’s intellectual prowess but its nature is dependent on words and their relationship to one another.

    Public debate in South Africa lacks these parameters – emotion runs free, originality has been usurped by political correctness and language butchered by a systematic lowering of standards. As a result, you can be sure that many arguments are not arguments at all. At the one end of the scale they are best described as ‘tirades’, as ‘rants’, as ‘invective’; at the other, a bland summation, an ‘overview’ or simply empty ‘rhetoric’. But not arguments. We do not deal in arguments.

    Words too have lost their meaning or, at least, their meaning has been stripped away from them. Clichés and platitudes have become common cause, for they offer the double benefit of self-righteous indignation, as well as hazy meaning, a cozy refuge for moralisers. And it is not just the quality of language that suffers but the quantity. By which I mean the number of words in circulation has reduced, down to a core set of ideas or phrases, even words, which come to dominate debate, limiting the parameters of public thought, ostracizing originality and forcing every ambiguity to choose a side.

    Very often the problem is so acute it is borne of blissful ignorance, as opposed to ill-intent. It is the simple consequence of not knowing any better. Not knowing the rules, of logic and of language. They have been forgotten by a generation forged in emotional rhetoric; perhaps the result of several decades in which there was no debate, there was only right and wrong, and you were either right, or you were either wrong. And your emotional intensity, as opposed to your intellectual rigor, determined your impact, if words played any role at all.

    Today that spirit lives on; but it is a spirit that has forgotten its body died a long time ago. It does not recognise that there are legitimate areas of contestation, shades of grey, and that the best path of action is not necessarily a consequence of one’s emotional pull in a particular direction, rather the result of considered thought, of discussion and debate, of reason and compromise. That spirit is kept alive today – its past is regularly and deliberately evoked – a time when there was no choice, only desire. And so it thinks it died just yesterday, and thus it continues to infect public thought, fueling intolerance and hollowing out meaning.

    Certainly it has reduced analysis to nothing more than a veneer, the broad brushstrokes that thinly cover over insight and complexity and, at a distance, comprise any picture or fit any frame; a far safer and less onerous option than the detailed and thoughtful workmanship that defines a masterpiece. And effort? Effort has been outlawed. The reflection and careful consideration that subtlety and suggestion require? Too much to induce, let alone create.

    Bacon suggests the man who knowingly makes that choice – to be vague instead of frank – is dishonest; he calls him a dissembler. And here it is necessary to address one’s purpose in undertaking any debate or presenting any argument. It is to convince: to present a case that so effectively marries logic and language with emotion and evidence as to win others over to your cause. But there is another means to this end, and it is the calling card of the dissembler: to subvert those three more rational requirements – logic, language and evidence – to the irrational pull of raw emotion. Masked behind generality and with a superior air of superficiality it is all persuasion and intent, but never convincing. And always with some implicit threat, warning against any revealing of what it really is. That is undoubtedly dishonest, as it is an admission of failure, a realisation that the facts, the particulars, provide little support for one’s purpose.

    For all this, there is one consideration even those dissemblers take for granted: a passive audience, uncritical and unthinking. That role too is a choice. The requirements necessary for any one person to be convinced by an argument are a reflection of their own expectations, and where we set the bar says as much about ourselves as it does about our willingness to allow public debate to dilute reality down to some vaguely pleasing platitude. That is a choice we face everyday, but one we do not often make. As such, I believe we are complicit. Only by making that choice can we break the viscous circle we find ourselves caught in.

    This week we watched a man, a President, grasping in the dark; carefully feeling his way, his every word as empty as it was safe, lest he offend or stub his toe on some hard truth. He put no argument before the people. He offered no vision, no analysis. His language was hollow, meaningless. He spoke in platitudes and clichés. There were no particulars as he limped down the safest path, the wariest way. And that choice was deliberate. For these reasons I say he is a dissembler.

    And yet that speech was just a moment, one among many. The test we face does not lie just in recognising such moments for what they are but in arresting the attitude that fuels their design. It is a manner borne of contempt, for the truth and for those to whom any argument is addressed. And it is only our response, a decision to choose the harder path, which can set our public discourse on a firmer footing.

  65. Motuang – it was??? hmmmmm, wonder y so many sed it wasnt. maybe the rest of us missed sumthn u didnt ;). definately freedom of speech, making not-so-clever comments for the world to hear at tyms…..yeah we will wait and wait and wait…..all in good tym i supose or when they feel it is now tym to act on what they say and promise…….

  66. Zuma isaaaaaaaaasa

  67. haai
    boo

  68. Its not raining men its raining ZUMAS

  69. LOL!!!! yeah….plenty,plenty of Zuum’s, hehhehe

  70. hmmmm…mayb him entering fr SA’s got “talent” not a bad idea??ROFL!!!!

Speak Your Mind

*