A break from your politics

Jetboogieman · Nov 28, 2017

Hey I thought I'd bring you a story from my homeland and allow you to take a break and indulge yourself in my outrage that you don't have a vested interest in.

Perhaps you'll find it therapeutic.

So this is my President... Jacob Zuma.

Or as I like to refer to him... Corrupt imbecile.

Here's just a taster of the mans complete idiocy, he does not have a High School education.

Even before he became President, he was linked to corruption in an Arms Procurement deal and various other dealings.

He was also accused of rape in 2005 and while he of course claimed the sex was consensual... He admitted to having unprotected sex with the woman who he knew was HIV positive whilst as Vice President at the time running the National AIDS Council and professed in open court that it was ok because he "took a shower after to cut the risk of transmission".

Somehow he survived both scandals and began to stack his political party (the ANC) with loyalists to make sure he had a strangehold on the party for good and it seems to have worked.

Despite the fact he is virtually universally reviled in the country except for a few hardcore supporters, he got away with spending almost $15 million USD in taxpayer funds on his personal residence in the countryside to allegedly "Make it secure" but included ampitheatre, visitors centre, cattle kraal, chicken run and most lampooned of all a "Fire Pool" to put out fires on the property should they arise...

Now in the end he was investigated for this and was, thank god forced to pay back to the treasury a decent portion of this but still, the fact he felt bold enough to do it in the first place is a very worrying sign.

It has also come to appear that a very wealthy family in South Africa, "the Guptas" had an enormous amount of influence over the President, allegedly so much so that they were able to influence the President to appoint people to cabinet positions they wanted.

This became so problematic that his dismissal of internationally respected Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in favor of a nobody back bencher for opposing various spending plans by the President and his minions sent shockwaves through the South African financial system, the value of the currency dropped by almost 6 points that day and South Africas governmental bonds following the firing of the band aid he was forced to put as Finance Minister after that, Pravin Gordhan also internationally respected, got downgraded to junk status after he dismissed him as well following arguments over spending plans.

Despite all of this, one can only imagine the level of control he has over the executive body of the ANC and the rest of the party, given that the Opposition against all odds, was able to convince the Supreme Court to allow a secret ballot in parliament for a motion of No Confidence to get rid of him which failed, his level of control and ability to intimidate must be immense.

In desperation, Zuma has begun to tap into the dark side of populist politics using some Mugabe level rhetoric to try to blame South Africas ills not in his own shortcomings, but others including whites.

Local elections last year showed the ANC, having ruled South Africa with a massive majority since 1994 support may be beginning to wane, it is imperative for the good of the country that a different party get elected to government to show that a peaceful transfer of power is possible in the New South Africa because the fact is, is it has not been demonstrated yet.

So there you have it, if you've taken the time to read through this I hope you found it interesting and had the opportunity to read something political that wasn't personal to you so you don't have to get upset about it.

And here's to hoping for a bright future for the Republic...

JANFU · Nov 28, 2017

Jetboogieman said:
Hey I thought I'd bring you a story from my homeland and allow you to take a break and indulge yourself in my outrage that you don't have a vested interest in.

Perhaps you'll find it therapeutic.

So this is my President... Jacob Zuma.

Or as I like to refer to him... Corrupt imbecile.

Here's just a taster of the mans complete idiocy, he does not have a High School education.

Even before he became President, he was linked to corruption in an Arms Procurement deal and various other dealings.

He was also accused of rape in 2005 and while he of course claimed the sex was consensual... He admitted to having unprotected sex with the woman who he knew was HIV positive whilst as Vice President at the time running the National AIDS Council and professed in open court that it was ok because he "took a shower after to cut the risk of transmission".

Somehow he survived both scandals and began to stack his political party (the ANC) with loyalists to make sure he had a strangehold on the party for good and it seems to have worked.

Despite the fact he is virtually universally reviled in the country except for a few hardcore supporters, he got away with spending almost $15 million USD in taxpayer funds on his personal residence in the countryside to allegedly "Make it secure" but included ampitheatre, visitors centre, cattle kraal, chicken run and most lampooned of all a "Fire Pool" to put out fires on the property should they arise...

Now in the end he was investigated for this and was, thank god forced to pay back to the treasury a decent portion of this but still, the fact he felt bold enough to do it in the first place is a very worrying sign.

It has also come to appear that a very wealthy family in South Africa, "the Guptas" had an enormous amount of influence over the President, allegedly so much so that they were able to influence the President to appoint people to cabinet positions they wanted.

This became so problematic that his dismissal of internationally respected Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in favor of a nobody back bencher for opposing various spending plans by the President and his minions sent shockwaves through the South African financial system, the value of the currency dropped by almost 6 points that day and South Africas governmental bonds following the firing of the band aid he was forced to put as Finance Minister after that, Pravin Gordhan also internationally respected, got downgraded to junk status after he dismissed him as well following arguments over spending plans.

Despite all of this, one can only imagine the level of control he has over the executive body of the ANC and the rest of the party, given that the Opposition against all odds, was able to convince the Supreme Court to allow a secret ballot in parliament for a motion of No Confidence to get rid of him which failed, his level of control and ability to intimidate must be immense.

In desperation, Zuma has begun to tap into the dark side of populist politics using some Mugabe level rhetoric to try to blame South Africas ills not in his own shortcomings, but others including whites.

Local elections last year showed the ANC, having ruled South Africa with a massive majority since 1994 support may be beginning to wane, it is imperative for the good of the country that a different party get elected to government to show that a peaceful transfer of power is possible in the New South Africa because the fact is, is it has not been demonstrated yet.

So there you have it, if you've taken the time to read through this I hope you found it interesting and had the opportunity to read something political that wasn't personal to you so you don't have to get upset about it.

And here's to hoping for a bright future for the Republic...

He is as crooked as a dogs hind leg. Why he has not been charged, convicted and sent to jail only demonstrates judicial /political dysfunction and other issues within SA.
Just my humble and uninformed opinion.

Hawkeye10 · Nov 28, 2017

The interesting thing to me is how little Americans care about South Africa now that we got done with our project of driving whites from power.

That was it, that was all that we cared about.

JANFU · Nov 28, 2017

Hawkeye10 said:
The interesting thing to me is how little Americans care about South Africa now that we got done with our project of driving whites from power.

That was it, that was all that we cared about.

Yeah, a country that treated Black people like ****, you support that? A Govt that practiced apartheid, just one step above slavery when it came to rights.
A Govt that practiced and implemented homelands for Blacks, you support that?
A Govt that murdered people black and white for their demonstration against the abhorrence of an Apartheid govt.

If it was not for Nelson Mandela the country would have split with a bloody civil war.
No one, no one but Mandela could have stopped that from happening. No one, can you understand that.

Tigerace117 · Nov 28, 2017

Hawkeye10 said:
The interesting thing to me is how little Americans care about South Africa now that we got done with our project of driving whites from power.

That was it, that was all that we cared about.

Gee, all we cared about was helping get rid of a nasty regime which committed horrific atrocities against its own people?

Huh. No wonder you are so upset the apartheid government is gone.

Hawkeye10 · Nov 28, 2017

Tigerace117 said:
Gee, all we cared about was helping get rid of a nasty regime which committed horrific atrocities against its own people?

Huh. No wonder you are so upset the apartheid government is gone.

I am not upset that they are gone, I am commenting on how little we actually care about South Africa and South Africans, about how that project was really all about us, about getting our will what our will wants. How things turn out in the end does not interest us. We did the same thing in Libya.

Tanngrisnir · Nov 28, 2017

Hawkeye10 said:
The interesting thing to me is how little Americans care about South Africa now that we got done with our project of driving whites from power.

That was it, that was all that we cared about.

What's interesting to me is that nothing you've said is even remotely based in reality.

Hawkeye10 · Nov 28, 2017

Tanngrisnir said:
What's interesting to me is that nothing you've said is even remotely based in reality.

South Africa almost never gets mentioned anywhere anymore, as everyone can see for themselves. Type in "South Africa news" into Google for proof.

Tigerace117 · Nov 28, 2017

Hawkeye10 said:
I am not upset that they are gone, I am commenting on how little we actually care about South Africa and South Africans, about how that project was really all about us, about getting our will what our will wants. How things turn out in the end does not interest us. We did the same thing in Libya.

Except things turned out much better than they would have if the apartheid government had been allowed to cling to power, just as things in Libya have turned out better than they would have under a continued Gaddafi regime. Which, of course, is a rather damning indictment of the apartheid regime and of Gaddafi.

Hawkeye10 · Nov 28, 2017

Tigerace117 said:
Except things turned out much better than they would have if the apartheid government had been allowed to cling to power, just as things in Libya have turned out better than they would have under a continued Gaddafi regime. Which, of course, is a rather damning indictment of the apartheid regime and of Gaddafi.

South Africa is currently a disaster and getting worse fast, it is not at all clear that removing whites from power was good for the society.

Libya is also a wreck, and again almost no Americans care.

You clearly have an information sourcing problem.

EDIT: I will help you out, because I care:

The very same Western media that campaigned tirelessly against the apartheid of the old South Africa now refuse to utter a syllable about the cruelty and injustices that plague the new. In light of the ubiquity of this cowardice, Ahlert’s courage is that much more salient—and that much more commendable.

Yet while they are few, there are other voices in the wilderness. One such voice belongs to that of former South African resident Ilana Mercer.

If you find Ahlert’s analysis engaging, then you are guaranteed to be riveted by Mercer’s, Into the Cannibal’s Pot: Lessons for America from Post-Apartheid South Africa. The latter supplies readers with an intimate account of daily existence in South Africa that at once confirms and deepens Ahlert’s analysis. Upon reading Mercer’s work, what one discovers is that life in South Africa isn’t as bad as Ahlert says. It is dramatically worse.

The author is blunt: “If the sanctity of life is the highest value in a civilized society, then the New South Africa has little to recommend it…Democratic South Africa is now preponderantly overrun by elements, both within and without government, which make a safe and thriving civil society impossible to sustain.”

Why Americans Should Know and Care About South Africa | Frontpage Mag

11.28.17

An annual survey of top South African executives and managers has revealed an "alarming" dip in confidence and outlook‚ with a record 78% of people surveyed indicating they would consider opportunities abroad.

This represents a more than 30% increase from last year‚ when the majority of respondents indicated they were here to stay.

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-...-professionals-wanting-to-leave-south-africa/

Jetboogieman · Nov 28, 2017

Hawkeye10 said:
it is not at all clear that removing whites from power was good for the society.

We Used To Be Better (When we shot black children in the streets )

Hawkeye10 · Nov 28, 2017

Jetboogieman said:
We Used To Be Better (it is not at all clear that removing whites from power was good for the society. )

It sure looks like SA is headed for worse than it ever was under white rule, at the moment it is about a wash.

This time Americans dont care.

We got what we wanted.

Tigerace117 · Nov 28, 2017

Hawkeye10 said:
South Africa is currently a disaster and getting worse fast, it is not at all clear that removing whites from power was good for the society.

Libya is also a wreck, and again almost no Americans care.

You clearly have an information sourcing problem.

EDIT: I will help you out, because I care:

Why Americans Should Know and Care About South Africa | Frontpage Mag

11.28.17

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-...-professionals-wanting-to-leave-south-africa/

South Africa was on the brink of dissolving into an apocalyptic race War. It's military had been bled fighting bush wars for decades. The black people of South Africa were fed up with being treated as a third class serfs in their own country. The only people who actually think it's "unclear that ending apartheid was a good thing" are those who know nothing about the country.

Libya was under the rule of a thug who ran the country into the ground. Nobody is crying because Gaddafi got what he deserved. Boo ****ing hoo.

Serenity · Nov 28, 2017

Great post Jet.

Nelson Mandela’s dream of a free, prosperous and nonracial South Africa has turned into a nightmare. The nation’s constitution, often hailed as one of the most progressive in the world, is under siege by the very man who took an oath to protect it.
-Zake

Under siege by the same man who had this to say at Nelson Mandelas funeral.

"Today marks the end of an extraordinary journey that began 95 years ago....a beacon of hope to all those fighting for a just and equitable world order.
We shall not say goodbye, for you are not gone "You'll live forever in our hearts and minds."

-South African President Jacob Zuma at Nelson Mandelas Funeral today.

Jetboogieman · Nov 28, 2017

Serenity said:
Great post Jet.

Nelson Mandela’s dream of a free, prosperous and nonracial South Africa has turned into a nightmare. The nation’s constitution, often hailed as one of the most progressive in the world, is under siege by the very man who took an oath to protect it.
-Zake

Under siege by the same man who had this to say at Nelson Mandelas funeral.

It is amazing to go in one generation from someone with the moral fiber of Mandela, to the rotten to the core disaster that is Zuma.

Desmond Tutu had this to say.

Very powerful stuff.

Removable Mind · Nov 28, 2017

Jetboogieman said:
It is amazing to go in one generation from someone with the moral fiber of Mandela, to the rotten to the core disaster that is Zuma.

Desmond Tutu had this to say.

Very powerful stuff.

Thanks for sharing the events you have to live with. It made me sigh so loudly my wife asked me if something was wrong. I said, “Yes, I just read a post by a DP member that left me feeling like I just got kicked in the conjones.” She read your post, sit quietly for a few minutes then loudly sighed.

Insane governments are everywhere. My condolences to you and yours. There’s no escape.

Jetboogieman · Nov 28, 2017

Removable Mind said:
Thanks for sharing the events you have to live with. It made me sigh so loudly my wife asked me if something was wrong. I said, “Yes, I just read a post by a DP member that left me feeling like I just got kicked in the conjones.” She read your post, sit quietly for a few minutes then loudly sighed.

Insane governments are everywhere. My condolences to you and yours. There’s no escape.

Well I'll be honest, I'm lucky, I don't live there at this time, but at the same time that puts me in an awkward position.

The situation is so bad, I have now have a wife and two kids, if I was single and I didn't have that responsibility I may look at returning, being part of the country, participating in it's economic, social and political system and hopefully being part of the solution and actually improving the country.

But I'm not, to a certain extent I guess it makes me cowardly, throwing stones from safety but my hope is, is that the country can sort itself out to such an extent that I could one day return home.

But as it stands I won't even take my family there to visit, I could never forgive myself, knowing what I know if something were to happen to them while we're there.

I take enormous pride in being from there and what my country as able to achieve instead of what would have been so much easier, to descent into civil war... And so it is with a heavy heart and a feeling of deep regret and cowardice that I refuse to go back until things improve.

Jetboogieman · Dec 18, 2017

So I thought I'd do a quick post in here as a significant update just happened today that I wouldn't be more happy about.

So the ANC, the largest party in South Africa thats ruled since Apartheid ended is having their Party Conference to pick a new Party Leader, Zumas ex wife and a former business man (Cyril Ramaphosa) and apartheid struggle figure were the front runners, which also meant they will probably be President depending on the General Election next year.

Zumas ex wife it was thought would after getting elected allow Zuma to stay in power by proxy and protect him from prosecution.

Well... Cyril Ramaphosa won instead of Zumas ex wife and well... I would highly recommend watching these two things at the same time:

HERA the Stars · Jun 11, 2018

Jetboogieman said:
Well I'll be honest, I'm lucky, I don't live there at this time, but at the same time that puts me in an awkward position.

The situation is so bad, I have now have a wife and two kids, if I was single and I didn't have that responsibility I may look at returning, being part of the country, participating in it's economic, social and political system and hopefully being part of the solution and actually improving the country.

But I'm not, to a certain extent I guess it makes me cowardly, throwing stones from safety but my hope is, is that the country can sort itself out to such an extent that I could one day return home.

But as it stands I won't even take my family there to visit, I could never forgive myself, knowing what I know if something were to happen to them while we're there.

I take enormous pride in being from there and what my country as able to achieve instead of what would have been so much easier, to descent into civil war... And so it is with a heavy heart and a feeling of deep regret and cowardice that I refuse to go back until things improve.

Don't go back, South Africa is dying. ANC corruption have killed the Beloved country, the ANC's greatest shame is that there are more inequality and deaths now, than there ever were during 40 years of Apartheid, a system that discriminated by law against it's own citizens.

Jack Hays · Jun 24, 2018

A paper that made the case for colonialism — and that had been retracted — has been republished.

HERA the Stars · Jun 24, 2018

Jack Hays said:
A paper that made the case for colonialism — and that had been retracted — has been republished.

Thank you for posting this, I have not yet read the paper in its entirety (still halfway and understand the premise is to make the case for recolonization) but personally, I think it's a very important paper. Colonisation was terrible, the British/European class system was brought into colonies with colonists oppressing the natives and living off the cream of their adopted countries. It would be a mistake to ignore this even in view of the disastrous and sometimes murderous swing that came after all the way to the opposite end of the scale.

I do however believe this document MUST be published, it is only when we view both the cruel effect of colonialism and the vicious attempt to erase it that came after, that we may in any way find a solution to salvage these countries, if at all possible. The obstacles are daunting, corruption have rotted the land to its core, how can you build on something that will only collapse, and is it even possible to build from anew. What is left... an Empire?

These issues MUST be pondered and no one on the spectrum should be silenced, at least for as much as none of the mistakes of the past should be repeated.

Jack Hays · Jun 24, 2018

HERA the Stars said:
Thank you for posting this, I have not yet read the paper in its entirety (still halfway and understand the premise is to make the case for recolonization) but personally, I think it's a very important paper. Colonisation was terrible, the British/European class system was brought into colonies with colonists oppressing the natives and living off the cream of their adopted countries. It would be a mistake to ignore this even in view of the disastrous and sometimes murderous swing that came after all the way to the opposite end of the scale.

I do however believe this document MUST be published, it is only when we view both the cruel effect of colonialism and the vicious attempt to erase it that came after, that we may in any way find a solution to salvage these countries, if at all possible. The obstacles are daunting, corruption have rotted the land to its core, how can you build on something that will only collapse, and is it even possible to build from anew. What is left... an Empire?

These issues MUST be pondered and no one on the spectrum should be silenced, at least for as much as none of the mistakes of the past should be repeated.

You are most welcome. I recommend Niall Ferguson's Empire if you have not already read it.

I lived in Africa for twelve years. The continent presents staggering diversity, but in too many cases the thought is unavoidable that countries which can neither feed nor defend themselves don't last long. And corrupt governance precludes improvement.

A break from your politics

Jetboogieman

Somewhere in Babylon

JANFU

Land by the Gulf Stream

Hawkeye10

Buttermilk Man

JANFU

Land by the Gulf Stream

Tigerace117

Hawkeye10

Buttermilk Man

Tanngrisnir

Hawkeye10

Buttermilk Man

Tigerace117

Hawkeye10

Buttermilk Man

Jetboogieman

Somewhere in Babylon

Hawkeye10

Buttermilk Man

Tigerace117

Serenity

Stay Human

Jetboogieman

Somewhere in Babylon

Removable Mind

Irremovable Intelligence

Jetboogieman

Somewhere in Babylon

Jetboogieman

Somewhere in Babylon

HERA the Stars

Jack Hays

Traveler

HERA the Stars

Jack Hays

Traveler