Another Time Away

I am hitting the road again and will be away for a couple or more weeks. To do my bit for global warming I am leaving the lights off at my townhouse because Archbishop Tutu asked.

To reduce my foot/ass print some more, I am turning my cell phone off too.

Best wishes to everyone who still reads here. Thank you for your friendship.

Peace and struggle,
Ridwan

Image (Moto Guzzi SP1000) Credit

Struggle

Jerusalem, Israel(Bernat Armangue / Associated Press / March 12, 2010)

Caption in the LA Times reads:

A Palestinian worshipper who was prevented from reaching the Al-Aqsa mosque prays outside Jerusalem's Old City on Friday while Israeli forces stand guard in the background. Seeking to head off further unrest, police limited access to the city's holiest site, and Israel's military sealed off the West Bank for 48 hours, preventing Palestinians from entering Israel. Police allowed only men over 50 to pray Friday at the shrine at the center of the disturbances, the Jerusalem compound Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary. There were no limitations on women.

Onward!
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"Hate Speech Against Women"

Julius Malema is seeking to appeal the judgment of the Equality Court. But as it stands now he is guilty of hate speech for saying the woman who accused President Zuma of rape enjoyed the sex.

This is not the end. More guilty judgments to come for the boy-man from Limpopo.

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Malema's "Kill the Boer" Is Racist Incitement

Last week and Tuesday Julius Malema, the African National Congress Youth (ANCYL) leader, sang "kill the boer" (the Afrikaner farmer) at a birthday celebration held for him at the University of Johannesburg.

Malema was wearing a bright yellow tee-shirt with the face of Nelson Mandela emblazoned on the front.

I had two immediate reactions as I watched Malema's interaction with the supportive crowd on television.

First, I thought how pathetic it was for a once proud and disciplined movement like the ANC to be represented by the likes of Malema.

His now infamous habit of playing to the crowd is as vacuous as it is dangerous.

More importantly though, I was appalled to hear him sing a song from the anti-apartheid era that contained the line "kill the boer" and to do so in 2010.

His actions amounted to nothing less than inciting racist hatred.

The ANC, true to latest form, disagrees.

ANC Secretary General, Gwede Mantashe, has essentially defended Malema for singing a song that is considered part of their liberation history.

Mantashe said in part:

"Those songs are part of our history and we're not going to be forced to erase that history."

What utter crap! Mantashe and Malema are both being disingenuous.

The South African Human Rights Commission, a constitutionally commissioned body, ruled in 2003 that the slogan "kill the farmer, kill the boer" amounted to hate speech.

HRC commissioner, Professor Karthy Govender, said in part:

"The slogan 'kill the farmer, kill the boer' as chanted at an ANC youth rally in Kimberly and at (Peter) Mokaba's funeral is hate speech as defined in Section 16 (2) (c) of the Constitution."

Govender added that though South Africa was a democracy that supported free speech it was important to note that free speech does not include the right to advocate "hatred" or "harm" against a "group of people".

If the ANC was paying careful attention to the above ruling in 2003 then it would recognize why this most recent incident is also a case of advocating racist hatred.

There simply is no constitutional protection for voicing racist hatred against white farmers, Afrikaners in general, or any other group for that matter.

Onward!

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UPDATE: Just as I was about to publish this post News24 reported that "the Equality Court on Monday found ANC Youth League president Julius Malema guilty of hate speech and harassment."

The ruling out of the Equality Court stems from a charge laid by the Sonke Gender Justice Network after Malema said that the woman who alleged President Zuma raped her enjoyed the encounter.

The Equality Court says Malema must make an 'unconditional public apology within two weeks and pay R50 000 to an organization for abused women within a month'.

I can't wait to hear how the ANC rationalizes this ruling.

Malema will probably add the Equality Court to his list - which includes the South African Revenue Service (SARS) - of racist post-apartheid institutions that is out to get him.

Debating Mandela

What is the real legacy of Nelson Mandela? Is he beyond reproach?

It is time that South Africans and others interrogate the legacy of Nelson Mandela.

It is not helpful to just gloss over his towering presence in South African politics.

His ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, has raised a storm by openly criticizing Mandela for "betraying" blacks and getting too friendly with the likes of the last apartheid president, F.W. de Klerk.

Winnie is reported to have said in part:

'You all must realise that Mandela was not the only man who suffered. There were many others, hundreds who languished in prison and died.

'Mandela did go to prison and he went in there as a young revolutionary but look what came out.

'Mandela let us down. He agreed to a bad deal for the blacks. Economically we are still on the outside. The economy is very much "white".

She is right for reminding us that Mandela is not the central figure in the anti-apartheid struggle.

Folks like Anton Lembede, Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko, Chris Hani, among others, are sidelined by the focus on all things Mandela.

Mandela's legacy must be opened to a more honest critique. Winnie should, therefore, not be maligned for calling him on what she sees and knows.

The rest of the story lies too glossed over in the official fairytale that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) wants to project.

We could start by questioning Mandela's association with that genocidal maniac, Cecil John Rhodes in the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

Then there is the support for the late Indonesian strongman, Suharto.

The overarching point of debating Mandela is not to deride his contributions. The point is to make the story(s) more complex.

Complexity would necessarily include removing the untouchable saintliness of Mandela and subjecting his legacy to a more real and vigorous interpretation.

I am no fan of Winnie but on this call she is on-track.

Onward!

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UPDATE (March 12): Winne Madikizela-Mandela has issued a statement denying that she made the comments above.

Winnie says in part:

"I did not give Ms Naipul any interview. Any further questions about the content of that fictitious interview should be addressed to her."

I guess asking her directly would be out of the question.

Is there no end to the duplicity that is Winnie?

I should have known.

Nonetheless, I stand by my view that Mandela's legacy must be interrogated against the backdrop of a fuller appreciation of the struggle against apartheid.

Below is a picture of Nadira Naipul (who wrote the story) and her husband, VS Naipaul the famous author, and Winnie. The picture can be viewed at the London Evening Standard where Nadira Naipul's interview/article first appeared.

Go figure hey. Winnie most likely said what she said and never thought that it would appear in print.

You make the call. But anyway you slice it Winnie is in the Pooh again. ;)

International Women's Day

The struggle continues because it must.

Onward!

See InternationalWomen'sDay.com

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Last Member of Andaman Island Tribe Dies

Boa Sr is the member of her tribe to die last week according to Survival International.

She was the last known person to speak Bo and was 85 years old.

Survival International says the;

"Bo are thought to have lived in the Andaman Islands for as much as 65,000 years, making them the descendants of one of the oldest human cultures on Earth."

There are other Great Andamanese tribes but the total number of survivors is only 52.

Britain colonized the Andaman Islands in 1858 and the decimation of the Andamese tribes ensued.

A tragic story.

May the God/Great Spirit rest the soul of Bo Sr until that day.

Onward!

Hat tip to Angryindian for this story.

About to Cash In My Pension Fund

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A Gatekeeping Thing

An incident with the security guard who opens and closes the gate to the compound where my university-owned condo is situated got me to thinking.

Why is there so much bureaucracy in post-apartheid South Africa?

"You need a thing to open the gate on your own," the guard said to me.

Huh?

"So in all this time that you have opened the gate I have needed a thing," I replied with irritated sarcasm.

It was early morning. The guard was flashing a stern attitude.

"What thing," I asked.

"This kind of a thing," he said showing me a remote control.

"I don't want that thing," I said trying to press the point that it is one more thing for me to lose.

"But you are the only one," he said firmly.

"Where do I get it from," I asked.

"I don't know," he said with a vacant stare.

"You can't be serious. You want me to get a thing but you don't know from where?

"Yes I am seriaz. If you come home today I won't open the gate for you," he warned.

Well bowl me over.

The gatekeeper is seriaz.

I guess the fees I pay for his service includes the nicety of being threatened over a thing.

This incident is just one of too many similar idiocies I can relate. South Africa is defined by bureaucratic tape that parades as if it is meaningful structure.

I spent a lot of time after getting to work trying to figure out where to get the thing.

I went to an office where things are kept but it was closed.

I returned after an hour and a telephone conversation with the chief in charge of security things.

The office was still closed.

What the hell hey?

I think that a lot of red-tape is needed to hide the fact that we are just without a f*cking clue.

In addition to being a rude nation we are also very much an inept one.

I could go on but I need to go get that thing.

I bet the person(s) in charge of that thing is most likely out for the day ... perhaps even the week?

Onward!

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Blog Block

On my long drive from Kimberley to almost Botswana I had a lot of ideas for blog posts.

It may have been the heat beating down on me but I am suffering a block.

My head is dead ;)

I will have to revive it soon though.

Peace.

Oh here is another Zapiro cartoon. You know our sex pest prez is in England ... right?