my Mom sent me this photo by e-mail. it’s of me and my childhood friend Corné, with our first catch! we were hoping for loads of calamari rings *lol* who knew you needed more than just that one to feed a family? (or that preparing calamari from scratch was an art and not a mere matter of frying the hell out of it *lol*)
also in this photo is my aunt Ella – may her soul rest in perfection.
i should write more – but school’s a callin’
remember when sun, water and friendship was enough?
with american politics (Коростели летели, летели, …, летели лет сорок – or whatever passes for it) keeping everyone entertained and blissfully unaware – south africa is set to bleed again:
Cape Town – Cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro on Monday defended his controversial cartoon of Jacob Zuma preparing to rape justice, saying he thought “very, very carefully” before doing it.
The African National Congress and its tripartite alliance partners have condemned the cartoon as disgusting, while ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe labelled it racist.
The cartoon, published in the Sunday Times under Shapiro’s pen-name, Zapiro, shows a blindfolded female figure labelled “justice system”, being pinned down by Zuma’s political allies.
The ANC president is depicted in the cartoon unzipping his pants, while Mantashe urges him: “Go for it, boss!”
Shapiro said he “absolutely” refuted the racism charge, and that his record in the struggle years spoke for itself.
“There is a very, very pronounced tendency in this country towards exceptionalism, as if our politicians are more sacrosanct than politicians worldwide. That I take issue with,” he said.
“I really feel strongly that they have to take a hard look at what they are doing and not use the red herring of racism.”
He said he was not surprised that the cartoon had provoked strong reaction, as the image was “outrageous”, and a “very explosive thing”.
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i think the shower head is a nice touch!
Mob beats up Alzheimer patient for ‘shoplifting’
Alzheimer sufferer James Frederick Brown, 69, found dead in police cell for ‘stealing’ chocolate worth R8,50…
“Kill him, kill him,’ screamed the Shoprite cashiers as the mob carried the frail old man out, with children punching him from below…
Jul 11 2008 Kriel.
Afrikaner Alzheimer sufferer James Frederick Brown, 69, couldn’t even remember whether he’d paid for a bar of chocolate — but he was set upon on Tuesday at the Shoprite supermarket in Kriel by a security guard — and then attacked by a vigilante mob, which was egged on by screaming cashiers yelling ‘kill him, kill him”, while they were carrying the sick old man out of the shop, punching and kicking him.
Mob carried him out while kids were beating him up:
An elderly eye-witness — too terrified to provide a name — described how a large mob had dragged the sick old man out of the shop – ‘children were even beating up on him from below’.
* “It was horrid. Even the cashiers added to the hysteria by screaming that the old man had to be killed if he wants to steal chocolates.’
Brown’s daughter Rose-Marie Steyn said the old man had wandered from their home at around 12:30 from their home in Springbok Avenue, something he did often. “Everybody in our neighborhood knew of his confusion caused by his Alzheimer’s. We started worrying when he didn’t come home at around 13:30,’ she said.
Police held him at gunpoint in a dark cell:
A hairstylist working nearby then phoned her husband Willie to let them know that the old man had been arrested for theft.
* “We spent all afternoon at the police station trying to see him but the police refused, claiming he was ‘aggressive’ and should rather sleep.’
* “We told the police that he is an Alzheimer’s sufferer but they refused to listen,’ said his wife Rosa Brown. “A policeman even told me that he was keeping his gun on him because James was so wild.’ They insisted that he be kept in the cells until 18:00.
“When we finally went to fetch him Willie went along to calm my dad down,’ said Mrs Steyn. The horrified family found the old man lying on his back on the floor of the dark cell, in a large puddle of blood. The police on the scene claimed he ‘d probably ‘fallen in the cell and hit his head’.
Local doctor Leon Pelser immediately was called in to examine Mr Brown in the cell with family present.
* Dr Pelser said: ‘it was so dark that I had to ask a policeman to turn on his flash light so that I could try and revive Mr Brown. Under these most horrid circumstances I opened up his airways with a pipe and massaged his heart, but to no avail. I entered the cause of death as ‘unnatural’.
* “I examined him very thoroughly because I knew there will be an inquest.’
Police superintendent Abie Khoabane claimed in his comments to Beeld newspaper that Brown ‘already had blood on his face and his clothes when the (shop’s) security guards handed him over to the police.’ He wasn’t there at the time – he ‘s just the police spokesman for the province.
Dr Pelser said he’d found wounds to the old man’s right-eye, his nose and chin, and a large hole in the back of his skull. How he came to get these wounds will have to be established by an inquest.
Beeld cited Mrs Sonto Mlotshwa, the manager of Kriel Shoprite – claiming that the old man had been “arrested for theft”.
* She didn’t know a thing about the way he was assaulted by the mob during this ‘arrest’ although she must have been present, and the security guards wouldn’t say a word either.
* And Shoprite‘s management are also stonewalling: they were unable to comment as to how a confused old man with Alzheimer’s ended up being arrested and assaulted by a howling mob of shoppers, being encouraged to ‘kill him’ by screaming tellers – just because he couldn’t remember whether he’d paid for a R8,50 bar of chocolate or not.
Brown’s family are besides themselves with anger. “How can they do this to an old, sick man? He didn’t deserve this. His illness made him difficult at times, but he probably just forgot to pay,’ his daughter wept.
PS: Shoprite’s management added that they use “outside contractors” to provide security… Of course that makes it all better.
And I’m off to Johannesburg!
On Thursday 22 May, my buddy Quentin turned 35.
On Saturday 24 May, I turned 30.
On Sunday 25 May, it was Jaco’s turn to be 31.
This is how we did it:
Luzanne, Quentin, Richard, Liezel and Chris – we dined in Prince Albert, en route to Matjiesfontein.
dinner at the Lord Milner – everybody’s here!
the owner of Matjiesfontein graced us with his presence.
hot dogs on the lawn.
some played poker…
some played boules…
everybody relaxed :0)
caught in the courtyard
save yourself a trip and stock up!
me and luz – friends since 1993…
making the big speech.
how to feed 30 people.
everyone tried on my hat.
…even my dad!
setting up the decks in the Lairds Arms.
and the party started!
the last group photo – stairway of the Lord Milner
the very last group photo by the courtyard fountains.
Richard – the DJ to end all DJs.
tea in calitzdorp, on the way home.
good times ;0)
389642.jpg (JPEG Image, 868×590 pixels)
Here’s hoping we make it onto today’s roll…
We went to see a local High School’s production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” on Friday – and I must admit to rather enjoying the whole affair. The singing wasn’t especially horrible and most of the kids had more than 4 facial expressions. (That makes 4 more than Richard Gere.)
Basically, babe, your Pa should go Nazi.
The Von Trapp family decides to sing.
But the Nazi was cute…
Elsa tried her best to get Max to stand still.
Whenever she got nervous, Maria imagined them all wearing curtains.Stefan – a very dear friend of mine – snapped this sign in Burgersdorp:
It reads: “Old Mutual Bank investment of R80 000.00 for 10 years, receive R25 000.00 less than with an ordinary bank”.
