So cometh the end of the year. A haphazard one in terms of emails coming out, but such has been the nature of my brain this year. Firstly a few new additions to the mailing list Randall, Violet, Ingrid and David. Welcome to our ever growing community, how many people actually read this I will never know, but ever growing none-the-less. Should you at any time have any comments on how to improve this website, content you would like discussed or give any comments please feel free to drop me an email or visit www.mondaymail.blogspot.com where most of my emails in the last 5/6 years or something have been posted.
I would have liked to have ended off the year with a bang and some deep meaningful email but I think I am all emailed out.
But I must tell you another story though I was at gym last week Saturday and my whole thoughts were I need to get me a book because as of today I wont really have much to do other than just park off and pack etc. Anyway so I bump into this friend of mine and she suggested a book called the “Art of Happiness” by the Dalai Lama, now I have mentioned to you guys before that I find Buddhism quite interesting and was going to perhaps look at getting a book about the faith or the man and his teachings (Dalai Lama). Anyway so I get the book and run into one or 2 other people that have recently read the book or are currently reading it…Freaky! Very interesting read thus far.
U know this is going to be one of those happy feely sort of emails so if that sort of thing bores you stop right here J U know this year has had many ups and downs and I am sure not just for me but for everyone, but its soooo easy for us to focus on the downs that we forget about the ups. I know I have been down this road before, but I think it only fair and right for me to bring it to the fore again. It’s only going through the downs that we truly appreciate the ups and it also gives you an appreciation that this life on this earth is not really yours, your creator has their own plans for your life. Yes it’s rough when you are going through the downs, but ey I am a firm believer in there being a silver lining on every cloud. Today may be the worst day ever but tomorrow may be the best day ever…or not, that’s what life is all about, but just as you have had the best day ever of your life in the past you may well have it again. Just learn what you need to learn from whatever you are going through because no doubt it will help you or someone whose path you may cross sometime in the future. Just keep your heads up, chest out and eyes open. Suck it in, cos a better day is coming there is a plan for you! In the end we all die, choose the best way you want to spend your time on this earth
Before I sign off all I would like to say is the best of the festive season to you all. Be safe, be careful, have a whale of a time, eat over indulge how else are you going to write your list of new years resolutions? May 2007 be all that and a bag of chips
Birthdays
I know there are a good few birthdays this month. I don’t have my diary with me today and I don’t want to piss anyone off by forgetting to mention their special days. If its your birthday this month, my warmest wishes to you and may your day be an absolute ripper.
Maximum respect till next we e-speak. PS if anyone feels the need to respond please cc yawzie@gmail.com, cos I would definitely love to read your response
Y
Friday, December 08, 2006
Will you let them be…will you help the children live to see, a better day is coming? MC Hammer
Wow, cant believe its that time of the year again, I know I have been saying this a lot, but I am in awe at the pace with which this year has progressed. It feels like just the other day that I was writing about the 16 days of activism against violence against women and children and World Aids day which is on Friday. I don’t think I should be preaching to anyone on this mailing list, but spread the word. Let people know! Women are definitely complex creatures that could test a man’s simplicity ;-) but that’s y we love em! Your childhood definitely moulds who you are today. I said this in one of my emails, no child is born with hate and fear (other than loud noises and falling), those are all thought. I am very grateful for my upbringing, definitely have my issues like most, but I think my folks, schooling and friends offered me the opportunity to see right from wrong and judge people and situations based on its merit no more and no less. I don’t think any child can ever ask for more. It all boils down to respect! No means Uh huh, aikhona, nee! And if it is a yes, remember to roll down the rubber.
Enuff of the preaching, been a long time since I have given you all an update into my life and I cant think of a better time than now to be honest. The year started off pretty well to be honest, worked through December, you know the saying of a new brush sweeping the best, good impressions had to be made, deals had to be closed. I had a great family and friends, I had a gem of a girlfriend, good job at a great institution, money in the bank, Betty to drive, roof over my head, food in my belly (a bit too much if I had to be honest, was tipping the scale at about 106kg sometime this year). The guy was sorted. On the 26th Feb, I turned 30, had a ripper jam with some mates and family. Then something started to happen. I think its really coincidental cos I don’t really believe in that quarter life crisis stuff. But I started doing a lot of self examination. Started reading books…me reading books, I had definitely changed. I was very happy and comfortable with my life. I mean what more could a brother wish for, but then the wheels started to come off a tad. Work wasn’t as stimulating as it was in the first year, I wasn’t hating it by any means, but it just wasn’t what I thought I was in for. It was challenging but in all the wrong aspects for me. But I could still do it even at half pace, which I felt like I was operating at which is really no good cos work takes up the majority of my hours spent awake.
Anyway, on the social side of life though everything was pretty peachy, well sort of, i was spending a lot of time up in Joburg, spending some QT with the lady and the family, it was real cool. I didn’t really use to like flying too much but its helped me to be more chilled about taking to the skies…what will be will be etc. Now if you know me you know I go crazy for rugby. At varsity, at 2am, I would walk from Smuts Hall up on the mountain down to main road, looking into any res’ tv room or any bar that was showing a test match, because all our tvs in res were occupied and then have to walk back again. I can sit infront of the tv for 8 hours straight just watching rugby games. And I go crazy for the All Blacks. Anyway so during the super 12 we met the Crusaders, whilst they were up here to play the Stormers, thru a friend of mine Cader. Became friendly with one of them and it was a ripper. He even hooked me up with tickets to the Rustenburg Test match which was a ripper, cos a whole bunch of us missioned through there and thanks to my guy Eddie we even managed to organise tickets to the after match event with the players and officials, definitely a highlight of my year.
But something was up, I kept questioning what am I doing with myself? Is this as good as it gets? Something had to be done, but nothing was giving. I was still a happy guy, but I just wasn’t firing on all cylinders if u know what I mean. The funny thing though is that a lot of my mates, guys and girls were in a very similar space. I was moping around at work not only on Mondays (which is normally the case cos I was broken from the previous weekend) but more frequently, just get in greet people, but no jokes, just my desk work home. I said dust to that. So went away on a month of gallivanting, good times, thanks again Nana for the hospitality and anyone else who made an effort whilst we were there and to Lebo for coming with me. I think I wrote about it, it was a pretty nice trip London, Germany (Berlin, to see the aftermath of the World Cup), Amsterdam, Paris back to London then Reading for Vaughans and Victorias wedding and then Oxford to see Saul and back to London and then back here
The break was definitely needed cos I hadn’t taken a proper time out in about 2 yrs or more. It really did help to ease my mind and provide a bit of clarity on the way forward. The way forward was already known in a way, but now it was certain. My aim was to head back to Joburg at the end of the year. To be honest Cape Town is the bomb, but through my own fault I have not nearly capitalised on what it has to offer, for example I have only been to the beach 3 times in 2 years, climed the mountain once…under duress. I have some solid mates here, but the core of my people of like mind and like determination are up in the big smoke, the heart of private equity/acquisition finance is up there, my folks are there and last but not least a certain miss was over there too. And so it began… I started making louder noises about my desire to join the Investment Bank in
In the mean time I carried on as before, nose to the grind etc. etc. I carried on with my new found source of entertainment…reading. I read a book called “the monk who sold his Ferrari” very defining for me. One of my colleagues Nielfaar, had recently read a book called “In the meantime”. If you read the cover it seems pretty cheesy its about love this that and the next, but the content was pretty damn sound. It was all about just finding your own way and being the best you you can be and being happy with the you that you are. Once you get that right the world will start playing ball with you. And it makes so much sense, many of us roam this earth seeking approval from others, buy flashy cars, do this, wear this cos that’s what everyone expects or sees to be the ‘in’ thing. ‘I say no, when I say no I mean no’…Mohammed Ibrahimmah. Everything stems from this
Anyway so I tried to continue my talks with the powers that be about moving to Jhb, but not much was happening I even went up to Joburg on a few occasions to speak to the other departments, but sorry for me they were fully stocked up and there was no room in the inn. I could easily stay and just idle through work earn my salary etc. But I thought no more. Got on the horn, managed to potentially hook up a sweet job with another financial institution, and had one or 2 other things in the pipeline. Hadn’t signed anything yet with anyone cos I knew I had to take my time. But one day soon after reading the book I decided to take the leap of faith and handed in my resignation. For many days after my resignation I was a tad nervous, but the bounce was back in my step. I was stepping back into the unknown, new institution, more of the same or a refreshingly pleasant change? I guess only time would tell. I was very apprehensive about accepting the financial institutions offer to be honest, but I decided, right Yaw, this is what you are going to do. New job, new people, whats the worst that could happen? You learn something new and meet new people? At gym the other morning, something else that had increased in intensity, and was the source of much joy for me (along with squash and playing crap tennis) I mentioned to a friend that I had resigned and was heading back to the big smoke. On Sunday he gave me a call to come and see him on Monday (which was last week), I duely obliged. We had a brief discussion. He presented his business and his business idea for jhb and a role he saw for me there and asked if I was interested. The ease with which the answer yes came flowing from my mouth, particularly from a risk averse accountant who is pretty set in his ways, took even me aback! But I am pretty excited about the opportunity and hopefully we will make a success of it. I guess its pretty premature for me to be going on about this because I haven’t even signed an employment letter or anything as yet, but what will be will be I always say!
So now here I sit, the year almost over, still have my health (well from what I can gather), still have my shwanky family and friends, no gem of a girlfriend (we called time about 2 months or so ago), no banking job for much longer, roof over my head, smile on my face, still have my Betty getting me around and guess what I live to talk much shaite another day, can u ask for more?
This year has been one of the most challenging I have had in a long time, in terms of me in my personal space. First real relationship I have ever had and I learnt much about me and it was very good. I just feel I have grown up a helluva lot and am in a good space…for now, what tomorrow brings well once again time will tell.
From Friday the 8th December 2006 onwards, please contact me on yawzie@gmail.com my Skype name is Yawzie. Cell no will remain unchanged
There is a whole lot more I could write, but I cant really think of it now.
Birthdays
26th Akua
27th Julian
Once again maximum respect as always
Y
Thursday, November 02, 2006
One love, one… Let's get together to fight this Holy Armageddon (One love)
So when the Man comes there will be no, no doom (One song)
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
There ain't no hiding place from the Father of Creation
Sayin', "One love, one heart
Let's get together and feel all right."
I'm pleading to mankind (One love)
Oh, Lord (One heart) Whoa.
Sorry guys, for some reason that song popped into my head and hasn’t left as yet and you know how I am about sharing and all.
The rain fell this morning, the sea looks calm, air smells fresh.
New addition to the mailing list, welcome Mr. Cohen, I know you are very opinionated and hope to be getting some response from you and any suggestions on how to make this blog/weekly email a better read. To read some of the older ones, www.mondaymail.blogspot.com, if at any time u get bored and want to be removed, holler.
Up until Wednesday morning I didn’t really have much to write about, been very focused on the world of Yaw recently, introspection is a beautiful thing, but more of that at another time. Anyway so I go to a clients for a meeting and in the waiting room they have a tv on this tv its Tyra Banks show and there is this black woman (I would otherwise not have added the black, but its necessary to illustrate my point) who is talking about how she went out of her way to marry a Korean guy so that her kids would not have to go thru the trauma that she had to go through with her nappy hair. I SAY NO!! BUT I ALSO SAY SHAME I AM SORRY FOR U SISTER! Soon after that I receive an sms saying and I quote ‘part of the reason tyra is beautiful is people don’t see her as black cos she’s light skinned and has light eyes…its wrong but it’s the way it is’ clearly she was watching the same show.
Once again I say NO!! I refuse to accept it as the way it is going to stay. I have just lost the game…but lets leave that just there. Oh wait where was I going with this. Oh so I had no story, then came Tuesday afternoon, then on Wednesday I wake up to hear that the Groot Krokodil (Big crocodile) PW Botha had passed on at the age of 90. Is there any justice in the world one might ask? This man, the face and voice of apartheid, for as long as I have been a live, the one under whose leadership the institution that ignited and perpetuated the racial divide that is now South Africa flourished lives till the age of 90 and then on the other hand we have an infant on his mothers back whose life is ended by a stray bullet….Thanks to the environment PW supported we now have a highly racially sensitive environment where we all tread on tiptoes so we don’t offend one other. We have a society where because of the teachings of the past we have coloured people who are generally or have some part of their past as black thinking they are better than black people (how’s this for a story I have a friend, a very successful guy, well respected, well mannered, just a regular nice guy, he has been dating this girl for the last 10 yrs or so, and she is a coloured gal needless to say he is black. Her folks are against the relationship a comment they made was no you cant do that daughter, its like you are going backwards, that’s just sad!), Indian people some of whom are as dark as some black people if not darker, but have straight hair thinking they are better than black people because that’s what the law said…they were second on the pecking order, then we have blacks who think the world owes them something because of the way they were marginalised in the past and everything bad that happens is because of apartheid. It’s a mess, but a mess that is righting itself. I have faith in the next generation, provided our generation doesn’t preach the divide based race to our kids! But that being said, if race isn’t the dividing factor there will be something else, because afterall we are human, and we need to identify with something.
I tend to get very carried away with this cos I just don’t get it, I grew up in the same world that everyone else did, was treated the same as most blacks, maybe slightly worse being a foreign born black, but the only ounce of detest/contempt I have is against fools… NEWAY
Enough philosophising back to the lecture at hand…Pieter Willem Botha, 1916-2006. He was born to Afrikaner parents on a farm in a town called Telegraaf in the then Orange Free State. He studied law at the now University of the Free State, but he left early to pursue a life in politics, so off to the Western Cape he missioned to take office in the National Parties offices. From an early age he knew what he was about cos he supported the Nazis before and during WWII and joined an organisation called the Ox Wagon Fire, he soon after changed his stance when the Nazi’s were about to lose and started taking a more Christian nationalism stance. He married Anna Elizabeth Rossouw (Elize) in 1943 with whom he had 2 sons and 3 daughters. She passed on in 1997. He remarried Barbara Robertson on 22 June 1998
He became a member of the National Party in 1948. In 1966 he became BJ Vorster’s (the prime minister of the republic at that time) defence minister. Vorster resigned in 1978 and PW was elected as his successor. And so it began…first were the cross border raids into Angola and Mozambique, then came the nuclear weapons programme with Israel which resulted in 6 such weapons being developed. His whole intention was to build South Africa’s military capabilities and as a result all white males of a certain age had to do at least 2 years of military service (I think).
In he became president, this move gave him more power and contrl. He changed the constitution and created 2 new houses of parliament, along with the whites only House of assembly one for coloured people (House of Representatives) and another for Indian people (House of delegates). The thinking was that the 3 parties had equal legislative rights, but the laws passed would only govern their communities. Yes I know where were the negroes, who were 90% of the population…ag sorreee! A lot of international people praised it as a step in the right direction. But it wasn’t all rosy for him many leaders of the west dubbed him as a brash racist dictator. Talks of sanctions were flying around, a lot of foreign companies pulled out of SA this was all a move to reduce the influence of the minority led government. This all started in the 1980’s and this lead to the weakening of the economy.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, he did legalise interracial marriages, lifted the prohibition of multiracial political parties, relaxed the group areas act which prevented non-whites from living in certain areas, and he set the ball rolling in terms of initiating talks with Nelson Mandela and other political parties, but he couldn’t take it, there was going to be no way in hell that he was going to grant rights to blacks and end white supremacy…no chance! Brothers got angry, he declared states of emergency, operations to weed out the swart gevaar (‘black danger’) were being performed by secret operations such as vlakplaas. Under no circumstance was he willing to negotiate with the ANC. In 1985 he gave his in/famous crossing the rubicon speech, which was totally against what people expected him to speak about. He was meant to be talking about reforms etc. but instead he went on about how he wouldn’t give into the black majority and not release Nelson Mandela, what happened after that speech? The rand went for a ball of sh it, the country was pushed further aside, calls for sanctions grew louder.
Say what you will but in my mind he was a plonker (had a different word starting with a p and ending in an s but this is a family show), there are talks that he was misunderstood, the newspapers are going on about how he set the ball in motion for the breakdown of apartheid…whateverrrrr. During his reign, plenty were detained without trial, the less fortunate were tortured and killed, no explanations given, no one held accountable. He was asked to come to Truth and Reconciliation hearings he refused and he even went as far as refusing to apologise for his part in apartheid and apparently at his 90th birthday during an interview, he made comments that suggested that he had no regrets about the way he ran the country.
But as with most things of ‘evil’, flourish they shall not (in Yoda speak). His personality regarding the way he made rules regarding the country and the party led to a split in the party. In 1989, he had a stroke and as a result he was forced to step down FW de Klerk took over and I guess the rest is all history as they say…first democratic elections of 27 April 1994
Birthdays
27th Chief
2nd Nov Isabel Goodman
On that note get out of here I must. I really am trying to make this shorter but me loves to waffle I guess, the weekend is almost near, u all keep well enjoy the rest of ur day.
Maximun respect…as it was in the beginning so shall it be in the end…
Y
So when the Man comes there will be no, no doom (One song)
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
There ain't no hiding place from the Father of Creation
Sayin', "One love, one heart
Let's get together and feel all right."
I'm pleading to mankind (One love)
Oh, Lord (One heart) Whoa.
Sorry guys, for some reason that song popped into my head and hasn’t left as yet and you know how I am about sharing and all.
The rain fell this morning, the sea looks calm, air smells fresh.
New addition to the mailing list, welcome Mr. Cohen, I know you are very opinionated and hope to be getting some response from you and any suggestions on how to make this blog/weekly email a better read. To read some of the older ones, www.mondaymail.blogspot.com, if at any time u get bored and want to be removed, holler.
Up until Wednesday morning I didn’t really have much to write about, been very focused on the world of Yaw recently, introspection is a beautiful thing, but more of that at another time. Anyway so I go to a clients for a meeting and in the waiting room they have a tv on this tv its Tyra Banks show and there is this black woman (I would otherwise not have added the black, but its necessary to illustrate my point) who is talking about how she went out of her way to marry a Korean guy so that her kids would not have to go thru the trauma that she had to go through with her nappy hair. I SAY NO!! BUT I ALSO SAY SHAME I AM SORRY FOR U SISTER! Soon after that I receive an sms saying and I quote ‘part of the reason tyra is beautiful is people don’t see her as black cos she’s light skinned and has light eyes…its wrong but it’s the way it is’ clearly she was watching the same show.
Once again I say NO!! I refuse to accept it as the way it is going to stay. I have just lost the game…but lets leave that just there. Oh wait where was I going with this. Oh so I had no story, then came Tuesday afternoon, then on Wednesday I wake up to hear that the Groot Krokodil (Big crocodile) PW Botha had passed on at the age of 90. Is there any justice in the world one might ask? This man, the face and voice of apartheid, for as long as I have been a live, the one under whose leadership the institution that ignited and perpetuated the racial divide that is now South Africa flourished lives till the age of 90 and then on the other hand we have an infant on his mothers back whose life is ended by a stray bullet….Thanks to the environment PW supported we now have a highly racially sensitive environment where we all tread on tiptoes so we don’t offend one other. We have a society where because of the teachings of the past we have coloured people who are generally or have some part of their past as black thinking they are better than black people (how’s this for a story I have a friend, a very successful guy, well respected, well mannered, just a regular nice guy, he has been dating this girl for the last 10 yrs or so, and she is a coloured gal needless to say he is black. Her folks are against the relationship a comment they made was no you cant do that daughter, its like you are going backwards, that’s just sad!), Indian people some of whom are as dark as some black people if not darker, but have straight hair thinking they are better than black people because that’s what the law said…they were second on the pecking order, then we have blacks who think the world owes them something because of the way they were marginalised in the past and everything bad that happens is because of apartheid. It’s a mess, but a mess that is righting itself. I have faith in the next generation, provided our generation doesn’t preach the divide based race to our kids! But that being said, if race isn’t the dividing factor there will be something else, because afterall we are human, and we need to identify with something.
I tend to get very carried away with this cos I just don’t get it, I grew up in the same world that everyone else did, was treated the same as most blacks, maybe slightly worse being a foreign born black, but the only ounce of detest/contempt I have is against fools… NEWAY
Enough philosophising back to the lecture at hand…Pieter Willem Botha, 1916-2006. He was born to Afrikaner parents on a farm in a town called Telegraaf in the then Orange Free State. He studied law at the now University of the Free State, but he left early to pursue a life in politics, so off to the Western Cape he missioned to take office in the National Parties offices. From an early age he knew what he was about cos he supported the Nazis before and during WWII and joined an organisation called the Ox Wagon Fire, he soon after changed his stance when the Nazi’s were about to lose and started taking a more Christian nationalism stance. He married Anna Elizabeth Rossouw (Elize) in 1943 with whom he had 2 sons and 3 daughters. She passed on in 1997. He remarried Barbara Robertson on 22 June 1998
He became a member of the National Party in 1948. In 1966 he became BJ Vorster’s (the prime minister of the republic at that time) defence minister. Vorster resigned in 1978 and PW was elected as his successor. And so it began…first were the cross border raids into Angola and Mozambique, then came the nuclear weapons programme with Israel which resulted in 6 such weapons being developed. His whole intention was to build South Africa’s military capabilities and as a result all white males of a certain age had to do at least 2 years of military service (I think).
In he became president, this move gave him more power and contrl. He changed the constitution and created 2 new houses of parliament, along with the whites only House of assembly one for coloured people (House of Representatives) and another for Indian people (House of delegates). The thinking was that the 3 parties had equal legislative rights, but the laws passed would only govern their communities. Yes I know where were the negroes, who were 90% of the population…ag sorreee! A lot of international people praised it as a step in the right direction. But it wasn’t all rosy for him many leaders of the west dubbed him as a brash racist dictator. Talks of sanctions were flying around, a lot of foreign companies pulled out of SA this was all a move to reduce the influence of the minority led government. This all started in the 1980’s and this lead to the weakening of the economy.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, he did legalise interracial marriages, lifted the prohibition of multiracial political parties, relaxed the group areas act which prevented non-whites from living in certain areas, and he set the ball rolling in terms of initiating talks with Nelson Mandela and other political parties, but he couldn’t take it, there was going to be no way in hell that he was going to grant rights to blacks and end white supremacy…no chance! Brothers got angry, he declared states of emergency, operations to weed out the swart gevaar (‘black danger’) were being performed by secret operations such as vlakplaas. Under no circumstance was he willing to negotiate with the ANC. In 1985 he gave his in/famous crossing the rubicon speech, which was totally against what people expected him to speak about. He was meant to be talking about reforms etc. but instead he went on about how he wouldn’t give into the black majority and not release Nelson Mandela, what happened after that speech? The rand went for a ball of sh it, the country was pushed further aside, calls for sanctions grew louder.
Say what you will but in my mind he was a plonker (had a different word starting with a p and ending in an s but this is a family show), there are talks that he was misunderstood, the newspapers are going on about how he set the ball in motion for the breakdown of apartheid…whateverrrrr. During his reign, plenty were detained without trial, the less fortunate were tortured and killed, no explanations given, no one held accountable. He was asked to come to Truth and Reconciliation hearings he refused and he even went as far as refusing to apologise for his part in apartheid and apparently at his 90th birthday during an interview, he made comments that suggested that he had no regrets about the way he ran the country.
But as with most things of ‘evil’, flourish they shall not (in Yoda speak). His personality regarding the way he made rules regarding the country and the party led to a split in the party. In 1989, he had a stroke and as a result he was forced to step down FW de Klerk took over and I guess the rest is all history as they say…first democratic elections of 27 April 1994
Birthdays
27th Chief
2nd Nov Isabel Goodman
On that note get out of here I must. I really am trying to make this shorter but me loves to waffle I guess, the weekend is almost near, u all keep well enjoy the rest of ur day.
Maximun respect…as it was in the beginning so shall it be in the end…
Y
Monday, October 30, 2006
Hiya all,
“…There will be, ups and downs, smiles and frowns…” for those who listen to Snoop Dogg…but that my dear friends has been my week, pretty much my year, bad urs too I’m sure. Largely a good week though. I went through a verification process to determine whether I am black and guess what I am! What else can I tell u about my week? Not a helluva lot I guess, pretty dull other than that, back on the exercise trail again, I have lost about 6 kilos since in about 5/6 weeks which is a ripper, cos my tummy was beginning to look like I was 9 months pregnant, now it looks like I am 7 months still some work to do. I am sure you are now starting to think this bra is waffling definitely he has nothing to write about today…ou contraire monami (if that’s how u spell it). It was correct up until midnite Thursday and then it hit me, an epiphany. Tomorrow (today) is breast cancer day. Yes the topic has been played out, but there may just be one person who might find it useful.
Just 2 quick facts before I get into the signs and symptoms. Just cos you have a lump in your breast doesn’t mean its breast cancer, secondly the stats are 8 out of every 10 lumps found are benign (not cancerous). Which means keep self examining and schedule regular mammograms. If you have an issue with self examination, ladies I am setting up Yawzies care for the ladies centre soon, and we (I) will be specialising in those sorts of examinations, for the guys, I have a friend called Zahir who will be able to assist….hee hee.
More serious note, some more stats, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in women (second to lung cancer), the stats have changed from 1:20 in 1960 to 1:6 today, that’s a huge shift, but maybe its more because of people being more able to determine the cause of deaths today than they could back in the day. But wait there’s more, for every 100 women that develop breast cancer 1 male will also. The riskiest ages are from 45 onwards in women, with 50% of those diagnosed with breast cancer being over 65 yrs old.
There is a hectic yet uncommon type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer that can (IBC) occur. Its pretty difficult to detect via mammograms cos it doesn’t result in a lump but more an inflammation of the breast as a result of blockages in the lymph nodes. This type of cancer is aggressive and spreads rapidly. The suggested treatment for this is both local and systemic (total body) treatment. This would mean chemo, systemic treatment, surgery and radiation theraphy, possibly more chemo and then more hormone treatment. Fortunately this form of breast cancer is very rare. The symptoms are one larger breast than the other, red/pink skin, wselling, rash, orange like texture, skin hot to touch, pain and/or itchiness, ridges or thickened areas of breast, nipple discharge, inverted/flattened nipples, swollen lymph notes of neck and under armpit. If u have one or more of these symptoms and they it persists for more than a week, contact a physician, better still an oncologist.
Other types of carcinomas (cancerous growths if I listened to my brother correctly) are as follows:
Ductal Carcinoma in-situ – this is early breast cancer confined to the inside of the ductal system (what this means is that the cancer is confined to the walls of the ducts in the breast (the ductal system being anything that transports fluid…thanks Dr Phil)
Inflitrating Ductal – Most common type of breast cancer, lesions are star like in appearance (stellate)
Medullary Carcinoma – description didn’t was a whole lot of waffle, so if u hear it again u heard it here first
Infiltrating Lobular – lesions are generally on the upper outer quadrant of the breast and difficult to diagnose by a mammogram. This cancer can involve both breasts
Tubular Carcinoma and mucinous carcinoma – also another arb description
So when can you get breast cancer and who is at risk?
Well between the ages of 12 and 50 ie the start of the menstral cycle and menopause. Who is at risk and what can cause it? Well the use of fats, particularly polysaturated fats (corn oil and meat). It has a hereditary flavour to it as well, so if your sister/daughter has it you are more likely to have it too. If you have been pregnant there seems to be some protection (nuns are apparently most at risk…no jokes), Boozers also increase the risk of breast cancer, be careful if you go on an estrogen replacement therapy for longer than 10 yrs (even though this theraphy may reduce the possibility of Alzheimer’s, colon cancer and heart disease) lastly there is a link between obesity and cancer.
Now that’s me for this week but before I go. I think 2/3 years ago I had a bee in my bonnet about helping out those less fortunate than us over the December period. We raised quite a bit of money and got some tinned food and clothes donated to a home for street kids. Some of the money was used to buy some more food for the same home and the rest was used to buy formula and diapers for some infants in another orphanage out in Edenvale Joburg, Charl helped me purchase these and Jacob helped me distribute them. This year I want to try and do something of a similar nature, but I will give you more information later. I tell you this because once its communicated I cant go back ,I tend to get lacklustre at times and sweep it under the carpet. What I want from you is some charities but not the big ones that the whole world supports. Its Christmas time guys, lets give a little …
Speaking of which I received this email this week which I thought was a good gesture too have a read and if you can get involved get involved. The government doesn’t have to do everything we can also do our little bit. What is R100/month, 10 beers, 2 nites at Teazers/Mavricks J have a read
A group of black professionals intend setting up a charity Trust that will raise funds to provide resources and facilities to schools in previously disadvantaged communities. The Trust will raise funds from any member of the public who is prepared to sacrifice a bit of his/her income to assist the less fortunate. The Trust would be apolitical and non religious. The idea is to obtain initially 300 people who would commit to contribute R100 monthly to the trust for a period of at least 12 months (i.e. R1200 per annum). In addition, 10 companies would be sought to participate at R500 per month (i.e. R6000). This will yield a guaranteed annual income of R420 000 in the first year of operation. These people and companies will become the founding members of the Trust and will enjoy special voting rights. They will decide on contents of the Trust Deed, how funds are to be distributed and will elect the first group of Trustees. A draft Trust Deed has been prepared. Once the Trust is launched, members of the general public will be encouraged to donate a monthly income of not less than R20 per month for a period of at least 12 months. Companies can also participate for a monthly amount of at least R200 for a similar period. We have also approached a number of retired / unemployed people who are prepared to volunteer their time to become Trustees and administrators. These must be people who are beyond reproach and trustworthy. We believe there is sufficient interest. The founding members will vote and decide on these Trustees / administrators. The idea is to ensure that a very small percentage of the total funds gets utilised for administrative purposes. We are working on soliciting support of a few personalities who would assist build the Trust’s profile. Once enough donors are secured, a reputable law firm and an audit firm will be approached to assist with the set-up of the Trust. It is critical that the Trust is set-up in a transparent and corruption/fraud proof manner. The audit firm will also assist with auditing the Trust. Depending on how big the Trust becomes, the financials could be published in a national newspaper. No monies will flow until the founding members are comfortable that all the necessary mechanisms are in place to safeguard the Trust’s funds. We believe that the Trust will take off and become a huge success. Please indicate whether you can become a founder donor of the Trust. If you know of anyone who might be interested please let us know.
Several people, including the President, have made calls to those fortunate, especially Blacks, to sacrifice a bit of their resources to assist the less fortunate. This is a lifetime opportunity to assist in building our country in a convenient but powerful way. Our motto in life should be to strive to matter in every manner, possible. For those who are touched and troubled by the plight of our people, this is an opportunity to make that difference. For those who believe in Black consciousness, this is an opportunity to help fellow black brothers and sisters. For those who believe in God, this is an opportunity to take heed of the second greatest commandment to love one another. The Trust will bring together people who will to make a difference regardless of their motive. We are looking at securing the numbers in the next three weeks. There appears to be a strong interest in the idea and a few have opined that the amount is negligible. If you would like to play a particular role in the formation and life of the Trust, please advise accordingly. Recommendations/suggestions are welcomed. Vuyo Mvoko has an article in today’s (20 October 2006) Business Day (page 12) on how some grannies sacrificed their pension money to build a school in their village. This is a challenge to all of us. Mncedisi Xego Tel: 011 883 0275 Cell: 083 384 3142
To close off here is a quote for this week got it from my meeting this morning:
" Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some other object other than their own happiness, on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way"
Birthdays this week
23 Pearl, Saami
24th Philip
23/24th Eid Mubarak
Maximum respect see
“…There will be, ups and downs, smiles and frowns…” for those who listen to Snoop Dogg…but that my dear friends has been my week, pretty much my year, bad urs too I’m sure. Largely a good week though. I went through a verification process to determine whether I am black and guess what I am! What else can I tell u about my week? Not a helluva lot I guess, pretty dull other than that, back on the exercise trail again, I have lost about 6 kilos since in about 5/6 weeks which is a ripper, cos my tummy was beginning to look like I was 9 months pregnant, now it looks like I am 7 months still some work to do. I am sure you are now starting to think this bra is waffling definitely he has nothing to write about today…ou contraire monami (if that’s how u spell it). It was correct up until midnite Thursday and then it hit me, an epiphany. Tomorrow (today) is breast cancer day. Yes the topic has been played out, but there may just be one person who might find it useful.
Just 2 quick facts before I get into the signs and symptoms. Just cos you have a lump in your breast doesn’t mean its breast cancer, secondly the stats are 8 out of every 10 lumps found are benign (not cancerous). Which means keep self examining and schedule regular mammograms. If you have an issue with self examination, ladies I am setting up Yawzies care for the ladies centre soon, and we (I) will be specialising in those sorts of examinations, for the guys, I have a friend called Zahir who will be able to assist….hee hee.
More serious note, some more stats, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in women (second to lung cancer), the stats have changed from 1:20 in 1960 to 1:6 today, that’s a huge shift, but maybe its more because of people being more able to determine the cause of deaths today than they could back in the day. But wait there’s more, for every 100 women that develop breast cancer 1 male will also. The riskiest ages are from 45 onwards in women, with 50% of those diagnosed with breast cancer being over 65 yrs old.
There is a hectic yet uncommon type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer that can (IBC) occur. Its pretty difficult to detect via mammograms cos it doesn’t result in a lump but more an inflammation of the breast as a result of blockages in the lymph nodes. This type of cancer is aggressive and spreads rapidly. The suggested treatment for this is both local and systemic (total body) treatment. This would mean chemo, systemic treatment, surgery and radiation theraphy, possibly more chemo and then more hormone treatment. Fortunately this form of breast cancer is very rare. The symptoms are one larger breast than the other, red/pink skin, wselling, rash, orange like texture, skin hot to touch, pain and/or itchiness, ridges or thickened areas of breast, nipple discharge, inverted/flattened nipples, swollen lymph notes of neck and under armpit. If u have one or more of these symptoms and they it persists for more than a week, contact a physician, better still an oncologist.
Other types of carcinomas (cancerous growths if I listened to my brother correctly) are as follows:
Ductal Carcinoma in-situ – this is early breast cancer confined to the inside of the ductal system (what this means is that the cancer is confined to the walls of the ducts in the breast (the ductal system being anything that transports fluid…thanks Dr Phil)
Inflitrating Ductal – Most common type of breast cancer, lesions are star like in appearance (stellate)
Medullary Carcinoma – description didn’t was a whole lot of waffle, so if u hear it again u heard it here first
Infiltrating Lobular – lesions are generally on the upper outer quadrant of the breast and difficult to diagnose by a mammogram. This cancer can involve both breasts
Tubular Carcinoma and mucinous carcinoma – also another arb description
So when can you get breast cancer and who is at risk?
Well between the ages of 12 and 50 ie the start of the menstral cycle and menopause. Who is at risk and what can cause it? Well the use of fats, particularly polysaturated fats (corn oil and meat). It has a hereditary flavour to it as well, so if your sister/daughter has it you are more likely to have it too. If you have been pregnant there seems to be some protection (nuns are apparently most at risk…no jokes), Boozers also increase the risk of breast cancer, be careful if you go on an estrogen replacement therapy for longer than 10 yrs (even though this theraphy may reduce the possibility of Alzheimer’s, colon cancer and heart disease) lastly there is a link between obesity and cancer.
Now that’s me for this week but before I go. I think 2/3 years ago I had a bee in my bonnet about helping out those less fortunate than us over the December period. We raised quite a bit of money and got some tinned food and clothes donated to a home for street kids. Some of the money was used to buy some more food for the same home and the rest was used to buy formula and diapers for some infants in another orphanage out in Edenvale Joburg, Charl helped me purchase these and Jacob helped me distribute them. This year I want to try and do something of a similar nature, but I will give you more information later. I tell you this because once its communicated I cant go back ,I tend to get lacklustre at times and sweep it under the carpet. What I want from you is some charities but not the big ones that the whole world supports. Its Christmas time guys, lets give a little …
Speaking of which I received this email this week which I thought was a good gesture too have a read and if you can get involved get involved. The government doesn’t have to do everything we can also do our little bit. What is R100/month, 10 beers, 2 nites at Teazers/Mavricks J have a read
A group of black professionals intend setting up a charity Trust that will raise funds to provide resources and facilities to schools in previously disadvantaged communities. The Trust will raise funds from any member of the public who is prepared to sacrifice a bit of his/her income to assist the less fortunate. The Trust would be apolitical and non religious. The idea is to obtain initially 300 people who would commit to contribute R100 monthly to the trust for a period of at least 12 months (i.e. R1200 per annum). In addition, 10 companies would be sought to participate at R500 per month (i.e. R6000). This will yield a guaranteed annual income of R420 000 in the first year of operation. These people and companies will become the founding members of the Trust and will enjoy special voting rights. They will decide on contents of the Trust Deed, how funds are to be distributed and will elect the first group of Trustees. A draft Trust Deed has been prepared. Once the Trust is launched, members of the general public will be encouraged to donate a monthly income of not less than R20 per month for a period of at least 12 months. Companies can also participate for a monthly amount of at least R200 for a similar period. We have also approached a number of retired / unemployed people who are prepared to volunteer their time to become Trustees and administrators. These must be people who are beyond reproach and trustworthy. We believe there is sufficient interest. The founding members will vote and decide on these Trustees / administrators. The idea is to ensure that a very small percentage of the total funds gets utilised for administrative purposes. We are working on soliciting support of a few personalities who would assist build the Trust’s profile. Once enough donors are secured, a reputable law firm and an audit firm will be approached to assist with the set-up of the Trust. It is critical that the Trust is set-up in a transparent and corruption/fraud proof manner. The audit firm will also assist with auditing the Trust. Depending on how big the Trust becomes, the financials could be published in a national newspaper. No monies will flow until the founding members are comfortable that all the necessary mechanisms are in place to safeguard the Trust’s funds. We believe that the Trust will take off and become a huge success. Please indicate whether you can become a founder donor of the Trust. If you know of anyone who might be interested please let us know.
Several people, including the President, have made calls to those fortunate, especially Blacks, to sacrifice a bit of their resources to assist the less fortunate. This is a lifetime opportunity to assist in building our country in a convenient but powerful way. Our motto in life should be to strive to matter in every manner, possible. For those who are touched and troubled by the plight of our people, this is an opportunity to make that difference. For those who believe in Black consciousness, this is an opportunity to help fellow black brothers and sisters. For those who believe in God, this is an opportunity to take heed of the second greatest commandment to love one another. The Trust will bring together people who will to make a difference regardless of their motive. We are looking at securing the numbers in the next three weeks. There appears to be a strong interest in the idea and a few have opined that the amount is negligible. If you would like to play a particular role in the formation and life of the Trust, please advise accordingly. Recommendations/suggestions are welcomed. Vuyo Mvoko has an article in today’s (20 October 2006) Business Day (page 12) on how some grannies sacrificed their pension money to build a school in their village. This is a challenge to all of us. Mncedisi Xego Tel: 011 883 0275 Cell: 083 384 3142
To close off here is a quote for this week got it from my meeting this morning:
" Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some other object other than their own happiness, on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way"
Birthdays this week
23 Pearl, Saami
24th Philip
23/24th Eid Mubarak
Maximum respect see
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
I am not sure if it’s a factor of getting older and hopefully wiser or if I just have too much time on my hands, but lately I am asking myself far too often what is the purpose of this life? What are we doing to and on this earth? What really matters? I cant help but feel that we as humans have definitely lost the plot. We kill frankly because we can. We have no patience for each other, no tolerance of each other. We think we are better than the other person because we have blonde hair and they don’t, we have dark skin and they don’t, we believe in our god and they don’t…we are all about me…me…f**king me!!
What’s brought this on some might ask, no one specific thing really, just a culmination of 30 odd years of realisation. But that is not the question right now the real question is when does it end? Or what can I do in my life to end it! As many of you can tell this is a topic very dear to my heart. I really fail to understand where all this intolerance stems from. On sunday i played tennis with some mates and i must be honest my tennis lately has been pretty sha ite, but i have had some good patches and on sunday i was playing some of the best tennis i have in a while. I have this pet hate of people talking on cell phones when we are playing. So on sunday my mates brother's cell rings and he asks his brother my opponent at the time to answer and so he does needless to say i was quite bleak and as a result my tennis went south. Very silly but thats sport the intollerence comes in when i left the court heading home. I was on the inside of a guy and i realised that the 2 lanes were merging into one. I was on the inside lane but i knew if i dropped foot i would make it. It was silly, my fault, and i immediately put up my hand and my hazzards to appologise. Oh dear nexr traffic lights are red. Guess who pops up next to me. I roll down my window to appologise. The guy starts letting me have it, i kept saying my fault didnt realise, he carries on....Jackal and Hyde boss, the profanities came spewing from my mouth...i felt bad, i should have just rolled up my window and moved on...short fuse, i could find some justification for it, but its just not cricket! I was wrong i should move on.
I guess the icing on the cake (other than things in my personal life) is this latest uproar about the pope’s rather unnecessary and careless inclusion of a 1931 discourseByzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus” and an unnamed “educated Persian”about Islam and Christianity, in his lecture apparently titled “Faith, Reason and the University – Memories and Reflections” on 12th September 2006 at the University of Regensburg in Germany. To put this in context, the Pope prior to becoming the pope was a master Theologian (if that’s how you say it). I am about to plagarise a section of an article i read on the net which is an extract of his lecture, ideally i would have liked to have summarised it but i think it may lose its essence. I guess it may have already lost a great part of it as this is a translated extract of 3 paragraphs of a 16 paragraph lecture.
Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy
I was reminded of all this recently, when I read the edition by Professor Theodore Khoury (Münster) of part of the dialogue carried on — perhaps in 1391 in the winter barracks near Ankara — by the erudite Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both. It was presumably the emperor himself who set down this dialogue, during the siege of Constantinople between 1394 and 1402; and this would explain why his arguments are given in greater detail than those of his Persian interlocutor. The dialogue ranges widely over the structures of faith contained in the Bible and in the Qur'an, and deals especially with the image of God and of man, while necessarily returning repeatedly to the relationship between — as they were called — three "Laws" or "rules of life": the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qur'an. It is not my intention to discuss this question in the present lecture; here I would like to discuss only one point — itself rather marginal to the dialogue as a whole — which, in the context of the issue of "faith and reason", I found interesting and which can serve as the starting-point for my reflections on this issue.
In the seventh conversation edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that sura 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion". According to the experts, this is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood — and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats… To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death…
The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: "For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality." Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Muslim R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practice idolatry."
Ok decide for yourselves what you will on this, hence why we are all individuals, more than likely we may well all have differing views on this. Bottom line in this for me is religion (like many other things) should not be forced onto people. I believe that strongly. Fair enough an unfortunate reference was made to Islam, perhaps he was using this in context to what is currently going on in the world or perhaps not, he can only tell u what he was thinking.What i can say though is gross generalisation can breed nothing but contempt and this case is situation is no different. Be that as it may...I am a Christian by birth and by choice but i will go on and say that many a violent crime has been purpotrated in the name of Christianity, you guys remember this hymn we used to sing at assmbley or church...”onward Christian soldiers, marching on to war”, Bush's imposition of democracy on other nations, hollocaust, colonisation, apartheid, violent crimes against humanity the basis...religion. Its not religion that is at fault or Gods word that is at fault but mans interpretation of what the creator intended. Its definitely up to each and everyone of us in our hearts and in our minds through our in/actions and interactions with each other and the world at large to try as best as we can to portray the goodness and wholesomeness (if such word exists) that is meant to be God. For its through these actions that the world sees the religion with which we wish to be associated.
In summary, we are all individuals in this world with our own set of morals, value system and beliefs. But with the way the world is going at the moment, the world is but a flight away, a call away a flick of the computer switch away. As much as we must be sensitive to each others feelings and not unnecessarily ruffle any tail feathers, in the same breath we should be aware of the fact that criticism will be flung in our direction and engaging in constructive dialogue, u stating your stand point and me stating mine. How dam n hard is it? We are different thats why not every soul on this earth is tall dark and... called Yaw Peprah. You want to be with your own and act in isolation then i suggest get an island somewhere destroy all cell phones, tvs and pcs. I know religion is the essence of many of our beings, but many of our religions are so alike. I draw comparisons with 2/3 of the religions here. They believe in one god, one says beat your wife when she disobeys you another asks a woman to honour and obey her husband when they exchange their wedding vows i could go on. What i am trying to say here though although different in our ways we are all quite similar.
Thats me for the week. I wasnt going to write this but whilst writing this email, particularly the paragraph after the quote i was overcome by such a sense of clarity like never before, very weird, but it felt great...hmmmm
Birthdays for the week
19th Hannah
23rd Si Black
24th Vaughan
28th John K
29th Eve
Bottom line. Nowadays we are all on a mission with our lives. We are living a worldly existence and not one of the soul. We are all very concerned about me me me. How will/does the world see me. We are all in a rush to get somewhere, the only place at the end of this all is the grave boys and girls. Take some time. Let me repeat that TAKE SOME TIME. Get to know the people in your lives. Give ur children some time they wont need drugs, spend time you’re your spouse/partner get to really know them, there will be less spousal violence less divorce. Take some time to get to know your co-workers, gardeners, helpers, bosses. Just take some time out to get to know and understand people. Forget what the world has to say about x or y. find out for yourself. I should have taken my time on Sunday, I shouldn’t have crossed that guy, I shouldn’t have blown my lid. Maximum respect and to thine ownself be true always and most importantly live and let live!!!
What’s brought this on some might ask, no one specific thing really, just a culmination of 30 odd years of realisation. But that is not the question right now the real question is when does it end? Or what can I do in my life to end it! As many of you can tell this is a topic very dear to my heart. I really fail to understand where all this intolerance stems from. On sunday i played tennis with some mates and i must be honest my tennis lately has been pretty sha ite, but i have had some good patches and on sunday i was playing some of the best tennis i have in a while. I have this pet hate of people talking on cell phones when we are playing. So on sunday my mates brother's cell rings and he asks his brother my opponent at the time to answer and so he does needless to say i was quite bleak and as a result my tennis went south. Very silly but thats sport the intollerence comes in when i left the court heading home. I was on the inside of a guy and i realised that the 2 lanes were merging into one. I was on the inside lane but i knew if i dropped foot i would make it. It was silly, my fault, and i immediately put up my hand and my hazzards to appologise. Oh dear nexr traffic lights are red. Guess who pops up next to me. I roll down my window to appologise. The guy starts letting me have it, i kept saying my fault didnt realise, he carries on....Jackal and Hyde boss, the profanities came spewing from my mouth...i felt bad, i should have just rolled up my window and moved on...short fuse, i could find some justification for it, but its just not cricket! I was wrong i should move on.
I guess the icing on the cake (other than things in my personal life) is this latest uproar about the pope’s rather unnecessary and careless inclusion of a 1931 discourseByzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus” and an unnamed “educated Persian”about Islam and Christianity, in his lecture apparently titled “Faith, Reason and the University – Memories and Reflections” on 12th September 2006 at the University of Regensburg in Germany. To put this in context, the Pope prior to becoming the pope was a master Theologian (if that’s how you say it). I am about to plagarise a section of an article i read on the net which is an extract of his lecture, ideally i would have liked to have summarised it but i think it may lose its essence. I guess it may have already lost a great part of it as this is a translated extract of 3 paragraphs of a 16 paragraph lecture.
Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy
I was reminded of all this recently, when I read the edition by Professor Theodore Khoury (Münster) of part of the dialogue carried on — perhaps in 1391 in the winter barracks near Ankara — by the erudite Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both. It was presumably the emperor himself who set down this dialogue, during the siege of Constantinople between 1394 and 1402; and this would explain why his arguments are given in greater detail than those of his Persian interlocutor. The dialogue ranges widely over the structures of faith contained in the Bible and in the Qur'an, and deals especially with the image of God and of man, while necessarily returning repeatedly to the relationship between — as they were called — three "Laws" or "rules of life": the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qur'an. It is not my intention to discuss this question in the present lecture; here I would like to discuss only one point — itself rather marginal to the dialogue as a whole — which, in the context of the issue of "faith and reason", I found interesting and which can serve as the starting-point for my reflections on this issue.
In the seventh conversation edited by Professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the holy war. The emperor must have known that sura 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion". According to the experts, this is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Qur'an, concerning holy war. Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels", he addresses his interlocutor with a startling brusqueness on the central question about the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached". The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God", he says, "is not pleased by blood — and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats… To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death…
The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God's nature. The editor, Theodore Khoury, observes: "For the emperor, as a Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy, this statement is self-evident. But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality." Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Muslim R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practice idolatry."
Ok decide for yourselves what you will on this, hence why we are all individuals, more than likely we may well all have differing views on this. Bottom line in this for me is religion (like many other things) should not be forced onto people. I believe that strongly. Fair enough an unfortunate reference was made to Islam, perhaps he was using this in context to what is currently going on in the world or perhaps not, he can only tell u what he was thinking.What i can say though is gross generalisation can breed nothing but contempt and this case is situation is no different. Be that as it may...I am a Christian by birth and by choice but i will go on and say that many a violent crime has been purpotrated in the name of Christianity, you guys remember this hymn we used to sing at assmbley or church...”onward Christian soldiers, marching on to war”, Bush's imposition of democracy on other nations, hollocaust, colonisation, apartheid, violent crimes against humanity the basis...religion. Its not religion that is at fault or Gods word that is at fault but mans interpretation of what the creator intended. Its definitely up to each and everyone of us in our hearts and in our minds through our in/actions and interactions with each other and the world at large to try as best as we can to portray the goodness and wholesomeness (if such word exists) that is meant to be God. For its through these actions that the world sees the religion with which we wish to be associated.
In summary, we are all individuals in this world with our own set of morals, value system and beliefs. But with the way the world is going at the moment, the world is but a flight away, a call away a flick of the computer switch away. As much as we must be sensitive to each others feelings and not unnecessarily ruffle any tail feathers, in the same breath we should be aware of the fact that criticism will be flung in our direction and engaging in constructive dialogue, u stating your stand point and me stating mine. How dam n hard is it? We are different thats why not every soul on this earth is tall dark and... called Yaw Peprah. You want to be with your own and act in isolation then i suggest get an island somewhere destroy all cell phones, tvs and pcs. I know religion is the essence of many of our beings, but many of our religions are so alike. I draw comparisons with 2/3 of the religions here. They believe in one god, one says beat your wife when she disobeys you another asks a woman to honour and obey her husband when they exchange their wedding vows i could go on. What i am trying to say here though although different in our ways we are all quite similar.
Thats me for the week. I wasnt going to write this but whilst writing this email, particularly the paragraph after the quote i was overcome by such a sense of clarity like never before, very weird, but it felt great...hmmmm
Birthdays for the week
19th Hannah
23rd Si Black
24th Vaughan
28th John K
29th Eve
Bottom line. Nowadays we are all on a mission with our lives. We are living a worldly existence and not one of the soul. We are all very concerned about me me me. How will/does the world see me. We are all in a rush to get somewhere, the only place at the end of this all is the grave boys and girls. Take some time. Let me repeat that TAKE SOME TIME. Get to know the people in your lives. Give ur children some time they wont need drugs, spend time you’re your spouse/partner get to really know them, there will be less spousal violence less divorce. Take some time to get to know your co-workers, gardeners, helpers, bosses. Just take some time out to get to know and understand people. Forget what the world has to say about x or y. find out for yourself. I should have taken my time on Sunday, I shouldn’t have crossed that guy, I shouldn’t have blown my lid. Maximum respect and to thine ownself be true always and most importantly live and let live!!!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
So last week Monday (2 weeks ago now), I felt like a ‘meneer’ (‘the man’ for those that don’t understand Afrikaans)… I may be getting an act perhaps being amended next year, ok maybe not because of me, but I played some part in it, that’s my story and I am sticking to it! What am I on about, well there is a definition in the codes of best practice for triple B 2 E (broad based black economic empowerment) that makes mention of blacks being African, coloured and Indians. The definition further defines these African Coloureds and Indians as those who are South Africans as a result of birth or ancestry or were citizens prior to 1994. uh oh that excludes some of us Makwerekwere’s who have been here since the dawning of the age of Aquarius…we cant have that… So my quest began and it has been for about a year now.
So began the quest, and through some connections my concerns were heard by the chief director of BEE at the DTI who is the ‘custodian’ of the codes, she heard my story and said that us makweres should not be prejudiced by this but she did advise that I seek legal counsel on it, and so I made a few calls and engaged a law firm…u know how we roll…ok that sounds hectic, but something like that. Cut a long story short, I heard from a reliable source that a change in that definition is on the cards for next year sometime, so affected boys and girls, I will be giving you my bank account details in due course, so u can deposit my cut of whatever profits come your way from benefiting because you are black J
Sheesh how silly is that, bra if I went to the shops to buy some food, would some patron not stop me and ask me which isle we keep the milk?
So anyway how are u all? No worries on my side, hell how can I complain there’s going to be rugby on tv again this coming weekend!
Israel has stopped bombing Lebanon… that’s my story for this week. I don’t want to take sides, but one has to wonder about Israel’s intentions here…Hezbollah, captures 2 Israeli guards, Israel bombs Beirut killing plenty civilians, Hezbollah sends a couple missiles over the border into Israel, injures a couple of people, not too many because my understanding (stand corrected) is that the rockets weren’t that far reaching and the area was sparsely populated, anyway their stupidity taking a stone to a gun fight, retaliation Israel bombs and bombs and bombs and bombs. There’s been so much unnecessary loss of life, particularly for the Lebanese who have spent the last few years trying to rebuild their nation, after it was ravaged by war during most of my growing years. I am one of those conspiracy theorists and here is my take on this. Economies are taking a bit of a hiding at the moment, need to get some activity going, how do we create jobs? Oh wait lets bomb a country. US…mmm no no, we cant do it again, the world doesn’t like us much at the moment, after Iraq and Afghanistan, hey Isreal, why don’t you bomb them…A LOT! Then we stall the whole UN ceasefire talks so u can carry on some more, then come to the party and look like knights in shining armour then offer to rebuild the country…at a cost ofcourse. No one will suspect a thing. Isreal bombing Beirut, who would bat an eyelid, after all Hezbollah did kidnap 2 of your soldiers and launched a few rockets from the south of their borders so you can just bomb the whole of Lebanon at will, because, well because u can and the whole world will just stand by and watch…
So Hezbollah who are they? The name Hezbollah means ‘party of god’. It is currently led by Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. The exact date of establishment is somewhat confused some say 1982 following the Isreali invasion of Lebanon others say the 16th Feb 1985, the day Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin declared its manifesto. The manifesto followed the Islamic Shi’a ideology as developed by Ayatollah Khomeni. Hezbollah’s belief (as defined by one of its leaders) is that the whole of Israel is “an illegal usurper (to commit forcible or illegal seizure of an office, power, etc., encroach) entity, which is based on falsehood, massacres and illusions and there is no chance for its survival”. Hezbollah and Isreal don’t get along and have never and I fear this cease fire may not last too long. The reason for the formation of Hezbollah was to provide resitance against Israeli occupation in Lebanon from 1978 - 2000
From my readings it seems Hezbollah is different from many other Islamic groups in that it bestows plenty rights on its women. One member of the political council (Hezbollah is also a political party with I think just over 10% of the seats in parliament) stated “Hezbollah differs from many Islamic groups in our treatment of women. We believe women have the ability like men to participate in all parts of life”. As such many women have been placed in positions of profile such as the head of Al Noor Radio, participation in the Political council (Hezbollah’s highest ruling body), running the elections etc.
On the social front Hezbollah is very active as well. A fair amount of economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon have resulted from its Jihad al-Bina (reconstruction campaign). According to a CNN report, the party/organisation does everything a government should do, such as collecting garbage, running hospitals, fixing schools etc. It operates 4 hospitals, 12 clinics, 12 schools, and 2 agricultural centres that provide farmers with technical assistance and training. Provides free medical care to its members and poor farmers
The military branch is known as Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (“The Islamic Resistance”). No one knows for sure how many operatives it has some say thousands of militia others say hundred. The international institute for strategic studies estimates between 600 and 1000 active fighters with 3000-5000 available as well as 10000 reservists (as I said, no one knows for sure). It is said to be rather well armed with a lot of its arms being purchased or obtained from Syria, Iran, Russia and China. The group is touted by many to be the ‘most capable’ (in terms of motivation, dedication and training) non-state armed group in the Middle East’. They are seen by many as freedom fighters rather than a terrorist group, because their actions are in opposition to Israeli occupation. Hezbollah itself has disclaimed the use of terrorist tactics, particularly those that resulted in non Israeli deaths. Its leaders have also condemned attacks against US tourists, intellectuals, doctors or professors that have nothing to do with the war. But then again in 2002 when the battle of Jenin broke out, the head defended the actions of the suicide bombings against Israeli targets. Apparently the condemnation of civilian casualties does not hold true for those caught in the ‘cross fire’ in Israel.
So where does Hezbollah get its funding from one might wonder?! Well its reported that between $60-$100mil a year is from Iran’s coffers other sources of funding includes South America. Other sources includes wealthy Shiites and the party’s investment portfolio
There are disagreeing opinions from the ‘outside’ on the status of Hezbollah. The US, Netherlands, Israel and Canada class it as a terrorist organisation, but many Muslim and Arab nations regard it as a resistance movement. What surprises me though is the fact that the UK didn’t jump on the band wagon in describing it as a terrorist organisation, it does however consider the Hezbollah External Security Organisation as a terrorist organisation (along with Australia). Funny thing though is that the EU doesn’t consider the organisation a terrorist organisation, but lists its intelligence officer as a terrorist.
Anyone enough about Hezbollah. Bottom line and with respect, the person who decided to create the state of Israel where it did/ re-establish it where it did, didn’t really think carefully about what s/he was doing. Gaza, Palestine, Jordan, West Bank, Lebanon, Egypt. Its like a thorn amongst the roses or a rose amongst the thorns depending on what ur take on it is. Hectic!! Another thing I found surprising was the fact that Islam is very prominent in Lebanon, I know quite a few Lebs, but they are all devout Catholics.
Very chuffed with myself, finally finished reading Angels and Demons. Book with the most pages I have ever read (that is not prescribed reading), very pleasing indeed. And the fact that the book was a great read didn’t hurt too much neither.
Anyway that’s me for this week…and last…
Birthdays
4th Moathludi
6th Bavisha
8th Claire B
10th Thlaleng
12th Elly and Angela
14th Degs
18th Lerato
19th Rob Lee
21st Julius and Nhlanhla
23rd Jem
26th Charl
29th Francois and Mrs Makanda
Maximum respect to the masses, whew, done, sorry I have been so scarce, you all have a good weekend.
Y
So began the quest, and through some connections my concerns were heard by the chief director of BEE at the DTI who is the ‘custodian’ of the codes, she heard my story and said that us makweres should not be prejudiced by this but she did advise that I seek legal counsel on it, and so I made a few calls and engaged a law firm…u know how we roll…ok that sounds hectic, but something like that. Cut a long story short, I heard from a reliable source that a change in that definition is on the cards for next year sometime, so affected boys and girls, I will be giving you my bank account details in due course, so u can deposit my cut of whatever profits come your way from benefiting because you are black J
Sheesh how silly is that, bra if I went to the shops to buy some food, would some patron not stop me and ask me which isle we keep the milk?
So anyway how are u all? No worries on my side, hell how can I complain there’s going to be rugby on tv again this coming weekend!
Israel has stopped bombing Lebanon… that’s my story for this week. I don’t want to take sides, but one has to wonder about Israel’s intentions here…Hezbollah, captures 2 Israeli guards, Israel bombs Beirut killing plenty civilians, Hezbollah sends a couple missiles over the border into Israel, injures a couple of people, not too many because my understanding (stand corrected) is that the rockets weren’t that far reaching and the area was sparsely populated, anyway their stupidity taking a stone to a gun fight, retaliation Israel bombs and bombs and bombs and bombs. There’s been so much unnecessary loss of life, particularly for the Lebanese who have spent the last few years trying to rebuild their nation, after it was ravaged by war during most of my growing years. I am one of those conspiracy theorists and here is my take on this. Economies are taking a bit of a hiding at the moment, need to get some activity going, how do we create jobs? Oh wait lets bomb a country. US…mmm no no, we cant do it again, the world doesn’t like us much at the moment, after Iraq and Afghanistan, hey Isreal, why don’t you bomb them…A LOT! Then we stall the whole UN ceasefire talks so u can carry on some more, then come to the party and look like knights in shining armour then offer to rebuild the country…at a cost ofcourse. No one will suspect a thing. Isreal bombing Beirut, who would bat an eyelid, after all Hezbollah did kidnap 2 of your soldiers and launched a few rockets from the south of their borders so you can just bomb the whole of Lebanon at will, because, well because u can and the whole world will just stand by and watch…
So Hezbollah who are they? The name Hezbollah means ‘party of god’. It is currently led by Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. The exact date of establishment is somewhat confused some say 1982 following the Isreali invasion of Lebanon others say the 16th Feb 1985, the day Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin declared its manifesto. The manifesto followed the Islamic Shi’a ideology as developed by Ayatollah Khomeni. Hezbollah’s belief (as defined by one of its leaders) is that the whole of Israel is “an illegal usurper (to commit forcible or illegal seizure of an office, power, etc., encroach) entity, which is based on falsehood, massacres and illusions and there is no chance for its survival”. Hezbollah and Isreal don’t get along and have never and I fear this cease fire may not last too long. The reason for the formation of Hezbollah was to provide resitance against Israeli occupation in Lebanon from 1978 - 2000
From my readings it seems Hezbollah is different from many other Islamic groups in that it bestows plenty rights on its women. One member of the political council (Hezbollah is also a political party with I think just over 10% of the seats in parliament) stated “Hezbollah differs from many Islamic groups in our treatment of women. We believe women have the ability like men to participate in all parts of life”. As such many women have been placed in positions of profile such as the head of Al Noor Radio, participation in the Political council (Hezbollah’s highest ruling body), running the elections etc.
On the social front Hezbollah is very active as well. A fair amount of economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon have resulted from its Jihad al-Bina (reconstruction campaign). According to a CNN report, the party/organisation does everything a government should do, such as collecting garbage, running hospitals, fixing schools etc. It operates 4 hospitals, 12 clinics, 12 schools, and 2 agricultural centres that provide farmers with technical assistance and training. Provides free medical care to its members and poor farmers
The military branch is known as Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (“The Islamic Resistance”). No one knows for sure how many operatives it has some say thousands of militia others say hundred. The international institute for strategic studies estimates between 600 and 1000 active fighters with 3000-5000 available as well as 10000 reservists (as I said, no one knows for sure). It is said to be rather well armed with a lot of its arms being purchased or obtained from Syria, Iran, Russia and China. The group is touted by many to be the ‘most capable’ (in terms of motivation, dedication and training) non-state armed group in the Middle East’. They are seen by many as freedom fighters rather than a terrorist group, because their actions are in opposition to Israeli occupation. Hezbollah itself has disclaimed the use of terrorist tactics, particularly those that resulted in non Israeli deaths. Its leaders have also condemned attacks against US tourists, intellectuals, doctors or professors that have nothing to do with the war. But then again in 2002 when the battle of Jenin broke out, the head defended the actions of the suicide bombings against Israeli targets. Apparently the condemnation of civilian casualties does not hold true for those caught in the ‘cross fire’ in Israel.
So where does Hezbollah get its funding from one might wonder?! Well its reported that between $60-$100mil a year is from Iran’s coffers other sources of funding includes South America. Other sources includes wealthy Shiites and the party’s investment portfolio
There are disagreeing opinions from the ‘outside’ on the status of Hezbollah. The US, Netherlands, Israel and Canada class it as a terrorist organisation, but many Muslim and Arab nations regard it as a resistance movement. What surprises me though is the fact that the UK didn’t jump on the band wagon in describing it as a terrorist organisation, it does however consider the Hezbollah External Security Organisation as a terrorist organisation (along with Australia). Funny thing though is that the EU doesn’t consider the organisation a terrorist organisation, but lists its intelligence officer as a terrorist.
Anyone enough about Hezbollah. Bottom line and with respect, the person who decided to create the state of Israel where it did/ re-establish it where it did, didn’t really think carefully about what s/he was doing. Gaza, Palestine, Jordan, West Bank, Lebanon, Egypt. Its like a thorn amongst the roses or a rose amongst the thorns depending on what ur take on it is. Hectic!! Another thing I found surprising was the fact that Islam is very prominent in Lebanon, I know quite a few Lebs, but they are all devout Catholics.
Very chuffed with myself, finally finished reading Angels and Demons. Book with the most pages I have ever read (that is not prescribed reading), very pleasing indeed. And the fact that the book was a great read didn’t hurt too much neither.
Anyway that’s me for this week…and last…
Birthdays
4th Moathludi
6th Bavisha
8th Claire B
10th Thlaleng
12th Elly and Angela
14th Degs
18th Lerato
19th Rob Lee
21st Julius and Nhlanhla
23rd Jem
26th Charl
29th Francois and Mrs Makanda
Maximum respect to the masses, whew, done, sorry I have been so scarce, you all have a good weekend.
Y
Friday, August 04, 2006
So on Sunday night I go to bed late, like have been every other night for the last month, the only difference would be that at 6.45 on Monday morning I would be rudely awoken from my deep slumber, by the riiiinnnngggg, of my cellphone. It was at this time I realised the honeymoon was over and back to routine I go. Even though it was a month, it felt far too short, but good whilst it lasted. I cant tell you it was just what the doctor ordered. A whole month, almost away from all the ‘ills’ and ‘wells’ in your life, on a different continent. Other than the exchange rate that’s breaking the bank account, not a worry in the world. Time, pah!!! What was that. Never wore a watch once. Good thing/bad about that is you have time…time to sit, time to step back, time to think about the days, months, years gone by, time to think about the days, months, years to come, time to take stock, time to just chill and be nje (just).
So guess what I did, other than missioning? Yip did a lot of thinking about where my life is at and where its going and what this life is all about. And no I am not sad and morbid, au contraire mona - mi I am pretty chuffed, a bit of direction in most facets of my life, something that has been lacking for a while. But in saying that I thought and am still thinking about what this life is all about? A series of tests? But for what? But anyway enough of that. Whilst away away I read what I found to be quite an amazing book…yes you read right, I read….Its actually the third or so book I have read by this author, Paulo Coelho. The book’s name was Veronika decides to die. Its an easy yet interesting read. It’s a story about a young girl, who seems to have everything going for her, but she decides to end her life, after all what is its purpose. She doesn’t succeed and she ends up in a mental institution where she is told her life on this earth is but a few days long. The story is written about how this young lady touches the lives of many of the ‘insane inmates’ as well as how she finds new meaning to her own life. There were many more messages in there, but if you like that kind of Alchemist type of book this book is fantastic. Not only did I read that one I started reading Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, also a fantastic read thus far. But not as easy as the other, damnit its about 3 times the size!!
On the 4th of July 2006, on board Emirates I go, 8 hrs later, we arrive in Dubai, shopping mecca…mmm not! I thought things would be swimming around for free, not quite, stayed there for a few hrs caught Italy beating Germany, then off to London I go, get to Gatwick, London on wednesday morning, its no joke, overcast, hot and sticky, what had the plane diverted to Durban? I’m clueless, no idea how to mission from Gatwick to where my mate stayed in Chelsea, so asked the train guys, guy told me buy a day pass for off peak I tune schweet. I buy it, but when is off peak? So I ask, the guy tells me 9, so I chill till about 9.20 to be on the safe side. Hook up the first train I see heading to Victoria station, it’s the Gatwick express, so I say this not so bad. About 15 min into the trip, this lovely lass steps to me and asks ticket please. Now me, I’m chiffed cos I’m on holiday, got my off peak day pass, so I pull it out, lass looks at me and says sorry mate (imagine the accent) you need to get another ticket yeah, eish mara why? She says the ticket is for normal trains, and what kind of train is this I ask? And she says its for off peak and I say but I was told off peak was after 9, she says no boss after 9.30. So how much will it be, she says 14 pounds, I say Eita! And so it started. Missioned all the way to Nana’s place, what a pleasure aircon! Place to rest! Thanks for hosting me bro really much appreciated. Didn’t rest for long, after all I had a day pass so make the best of it, took a shower. Roamed the streets. Caught up with Lebo and went gallivanting.
So we start hashing out our plans to head to Berlin on Friday for the handover ceremony, a long shot, yes, but a framework to work off. Friday comes Friday goes, London is actually a ripper, just hanging out, chilling. Enter Sunday about 5 or so pm, we decide ok cool lets go to Berlin. Armed with our suitcases and visas boasting our Schengens we headed to Heathrow. We get there and the only flight we could get that was somewhat reasonable, but even that was ludicrous, was the last BA flight, we got on by the skin of our teeth, cos we dilly dallied before leaving for the airport. Anyway we made it on the flight. Guess what, the flight is delayed for like an hour. So its not just in Jozi flights get delayed, so we cant get off the plane, game is on, sorry for us. Anyway we finally take off, just as we take off we are landing again…in Berlin, the beauty of living in Europe. We are in Berlin, now what, so we have mates who were already there so we drop them a line and they tell us where to make our way to, we do just that. We meet them, at about 11pm or midnite, who knew, I wasn’t wearing a watch, didn’t wear a watch once whilst I was gone.
The final was over, Italy were champions, Italy, France…didn’t matter much to me, its just about who is partying the most. So we drop off our bags, a bit oiled from the flight. Systems were fired up. We went looking for the masses and we didn’t have to look far, anyway so we ask this cab driver to take us to a place where it would be rocking, he takes us away from the masses to a club that would ordinarily be rocking, but not that night (being a Sunday and all…duhhh!!), but we decide its all good, there are quite a few people in the streets we will see what we can make of this. Wasn’t too long before we found plenty people. Tell them you are South African and all they can say is 2010 we will be there and then they shove you with loads of booze, tell them u were born in Ghana… make plenty of mates…sports is a beautiful thing. Anyway so at about 3 or so we decide to move on and head to another place on our way we come across this Brazilian marching parade of sorts, whole bunch of people beating, drums and blowing trumpets. They were going the opposite direction, ie heading to where we had come from. They were festive. Oh what the hell, we turned and joined in, it was a ripper. To make matters worse, Lebo got hold of a vu-vu-zela (plastic trumpet used by many South African soccer supporters, it was over. We marched in the streets till the sun was coming up. At this time our mates had left us and I was hitting the wall big time. But Lebo and his vu-vu-zela were in their element. Many an hour passed, I was moeg, had no idea where I was or where we were going to sleep. Anyway I managed to convince Lebo to go. We made it as far as an open park in front of a few offices. Lebo decided to take a seat, followed by a lie down, followed by a little laugh, followed by snoring. Oh well, so I took my fone and my wallet, put it in my one pocket and slept on that side of my body, to give would be burglars a tough time if they wanted to rob me J. I slept hard but not for no longer than an hour. Woke up to a ‘hey man!’ from Lebo, looked around, plenty other people from the marching carnival had sought refuge in the park too, but the worst part was there were plenty people missioning off to work, I felt very arb, ag but I was on leave. Anyway so we made it back to civilisation, sorted out a hotel to stay in for that night and the next.
Had a few experiences in Berlin, first off was we all went to visit my mates family and across the road was a brothel, I had never ventured into one neither had any of my companions, my mates cousin say go take a look. And shocked indeed I was. The décor was dodgy, looked very old and minging, but that wasn’t the shock. We sat there had a drink like you would any other bar, but once again that wasn’t the shock. There were some scantily clad lasses there, nope not the shock. So we are sitting there at the door, to the balcony that is overlooked by many apartments across the road, trying to catch some air cos it was a bit of a warm nite. In the corner of my eye I see this object moving back and forth like, but I cant make it out, at first I think its someone’s arm after a few more glances and the ferocity of the movement growing I realise it’s a woman’s backside moving to and fro, the thought never occurred to me that they were doing the dirty right there, because they have rooms for that. Curiosity got the better of me and I stood up to go take a closer look, and yes they were! I was shocked. It was a ripper!
Germany doesn’t care, every other shop is a sex shop we went past parks where people park off naked it’s a joke. We are sitting at this café looking for a burger some guy offers us coke (cocaine) which he had wrapped neatly in a ball in his mouth. My freakiest experience in my life happened to me in Berlin. So we decide its time to go find our hotel, we catch a bus to the vicinity and drag our suitcases through the streets. Its roughly 3am in the morning. We see this woman walking her dog, at 3am in the damn morning?!! But that’s not the freaky part, uh huh, the whole time we were missioning for our rooms, I felt a very heavy, negative presence all around me, it was freaky, cos I don’t freak out too easily. It was getting a bit much so I stop and ask Lebo, boss is it cos I am tired or do you feel like there is something that’s not right here, he said bra I was going to ask you the same thing. Anyway we decide its best to just find our hotel, we walk a few more metres, stop at the corner of a street just to re-orientate ourselves. Out of nowhere we hear a voice screeching something we couldn’t make out. We looked at each other, grabbed our bags and high tailed out of there. Needless to say that it took no time for us to find our hotel. Stayed there for a couple of days, nice city Berlin is, quite insane that it could be so divided, we went on a open air bus trip, nice to see the city, but hardly caught any of the names of places or significance thereof cos the lass spoke maily German…hmmm
From there off to Amsterdam, caught a train, took but a few hours and in a new city we were, it was just after 11pm, had nowhere to sleep, once again. Made some mates with some Canadian guys, who told us of this place where they were staying right in the heart of the red light district, I wasn’t too excited about that (tsk tsk) but oh what the hell, so we went with them. [Strolling through the streets we were greeted by the distinct smell of Mary J, ripper, nobody shy about smoking it neither, a different world I tell u]. Guess what? They were full, so the lady at the front was nice enough to phone around for us and she found us another place, they told her 50 euros, per night which was schweet. We get there and the guy tells us 70 Euros, still schweet, but I was bleak cos that’s bad business, cos he thinks we are desperate, but I quite loathe getting f***ed over, so anyway we take a look at the rooms, and they are properly minging! I say to Lebo, boss I am going to mission till I find a place that’s at least half decent, its late, he’s tired, I fully understand he was bleak. He managed to get the rate reduced to 60 euros but I said nooit. We missioned for an hour and a bit but finally my negotiation skills shone through. Someone bit. It was about 1.30 came to this styling looking hotel, young person at the desk I say to him how much for a night, the dude says 120 euros, I say ‘nigga’ please, I tell him I have a place offering me 60 euros, yours is empty and may well stay empty for the night, I think your boss would be happier with 60 euros than naught, cos I am sure out of season you go well below 70 euros, he says 90 I say 70 he says 85 I say 70, eventually I get my 70 plus another 2 for taxes…score. Enter the room, fantastic, clean, aircon, shower, toilet, tv. Oops shower, hmm, shower curtain busted, oh no, call guy in front, guy comes says oh no, we can move you but a mission. I say don’t worry how about you throw in breakfast (see breakfast was excluded cos I took him down to 70 euros) he says schweet I think…score!! It was a beautiful day J. Want to hear a funny story, so on the last day in Amsterdam we decide not to check in because we were going to sort out an early train ride to Paris, as early as 6.30. The hotel was kind enough to let us leave our bags in their storage room so we could roam freely. And freely we roamed, a bit too free because we walked all over Amsterdam. We came across a market, where we lost each other. A good few hours later we met up again and went through the streets. We finally finished our wanderings a little after 3 (I think 3 was our magical no). Now it didn’t make sense to go to the hotel for 3 hours, so what do we do, well we had bus passes that allowed us to hop on and off busses at any time, so how do we kill time, well lets hop onto this bus and see what route it takes. So bus one, didn’t see the route, before I knew it, we were back at the starting point 1 hour less to waste, another bus, different route, through the burbs, even saw the Ajax Amsterdam grounds. Hour later, bus returned to the station, driver screams last stop. One more hour to kill…next bus, round and round we go. Bus returns, just after 6. fetch bags, enter train, find seats all in a days work. Train leave station before you know it…Paris North station
My intention was to make my way down to my friend who lives near Toulouse cos I have already done Paris, but it was Bastille Day, okes were bleak to be working or maybe not liking the fact that I was speaking English to them or they just didn’t like me, cos people weren’t being too helpful. Anyway so I finally get some assistance and the told me it would take about as long if not longer than my trip from Amsterdam. I would have loved to venture into French wine country, but this amazing race sort of missioning was taking its toll, it was hot, I was tired, needed to shower, had hay fever…Paris was sounding a great alternative. Really do love that place though you don’t have to do much but its just such a beautiful place. Anyway didn’t really do much we stayed with Daniel and his girlfriend and really just mellowed out, walked around abit, through the parks etc, only thing I thought was missing was my Thash. I needed to chill a bit so after 2 days I headed back to London caught up with some friends and family I hadn’t seen in years.
Enter Saturday the real reason I went to Europe, my mates Vaughan and Victoria got hitched. Beautiful wedding it was. It was held in a place called Swallowfield near Reading. Another first…I actively participated in my first garter throwing ‘ritual’ only cos my mate was saying that he has been to 10 wedding and caught 9 of them and there was no way he would not get this one. Guess what? Its lacy, its light blue, its mine hee hee hee. From there I took a trip over to Oxford to visit Saul and Mandy, beautiful place that. Oxford or London, give me Oxford any day. Even went to the place they filmed Harry Potter…Christ Church College.
And so it ended and I am tired of writing. Thanks to all whom I saw, and the others another time perhaps. Thanks again to Nana, Daniel and Eddie for hosting us and to Jenn for all the help. Other than that a welcome to my cousin Bo, if you find this email to be clogging your mail box drop me a line, alternatively if u have any comments on how to improve this mail or topics of interest please do drop me a line.
Quote
“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”
“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”
On that note I end, maximum respect.
Y
So guess what I did, other than missioning? Yip did a lot of thinking about where my life is at and where its going and what this life is all about. And no I am not sad and morbid, au contraire mona - mi I am pretty chuffed, a bit of direction in most facets of my life, something that has been lacking for a while. But in saying that I thought and am still thinking about what this life is all about? A series of tests? But for what? But anyway enough of that. Whilst away away I read what I found to be quite an amazing book…yes you read right, I read….Its actually the third or so book I have read by this author, Paulo Coelho. The book’s name was Veronika decides to die. Its an easy yet interesting read. It’s a story about a young girl, who seems to have everything going for her, but she decides to end her life, after all what is its purpose. She doesn’t succeed and she ends up in a mental institution where she is told her life on this earth is but a few days long. The story is written about how this young lady touches the lives of many of the ‘insane inmates’ as well as how she finds new meaning to her own life. There were many more messages in there, but if you like that kind of Alchemist type of book this book is fantastic. Not only did I read that one I started reading Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, also a fantastic read thus far. But not as easy as the other, damnit its about 3 times the size!!
On the 4th of July 2006, on board Emirates I go, 8 hrs later, we arrive in Dubai, shopping mecca…mmm not! I thought things would be swimming around for free, not quite, stayed there for a few hrs caught Italy beating Germany, then off to London I go, get to Gatwick, London on wednesday morning, its no joke, overcast, hot and sticky, what had the plane diverted to Durban? I’m clueless, no idea how to mission from Gatwick to where my mate stayed in Chelsea, so asked the train guys, guy told me buy a day pass for off peak I tune schweet. I buy it, but when is off peak? So I ask, the guy tells me 9, so I chill till about 9.20 to be on the safe side. Hook up the first train I see heading to Victoria station, it’s the Gatwick express, so I say this not so bad. About 15 min into the trip, this lovely lass steps to me and asks ticket please. Now me, I’m chiffed cos I’m on holiday, got my off peak day pass, so I pull it out, lass looks at me and says sorry mate (imagine the accent) you need to get another ticket yeah, eish mara why? She says the ticket is for normal trains, and what kind of train is this I ask? And she says its for off peak and I say but I was told off peak was after 9, she says no boss after 9.30. So how much will it be, she says 14 pounds, I say Eita! And so it started. Missioned all the way to Nana’s place, what a pleasure aircon! Place to rest! Thanks for hosting me bro really much appreciated. Didn’t rest for long, after all I had a day pass so make the best of it, took a shower. Roamed the streets. Caught up with Lebo and went gallivanting.
So we start hashing out our plans to head to Berlin on Friday for the handover ceremony, a long shot, yes, but a framework to work off. Friday comes Friday goes, London is actually a ripper, just hanging out, chilling. Enter Sunday about 5 or so pm, we decide ok cool lets go to Berlin. Armed with our suitcases and visas boasting our Schengens we headed to Heathrow. We get there and the only flight we could get that was somewhat reasonable, but even that was ludicrous, was the last BA flight, we got on by the skin of our teeth, cos we dilly dallied before leaving for the airport. Anyway we made it on the flight. Guess what, the flight is delayed for like an hour. So its not just in Jozi flights get delayed, so we cant get off the plane, game is on, sorry for us. Anyway we finally take off, just as we take off we are landing again…in Berlin, the beauty of living in Europe. We are in Berlin, now what, so we have mates who were already there so we drop them a line and they tell us where to make our way to, we do just that. We meet them, at about 11pm or midnite, who knew, I wasn’t wearing a watch, didn’t wear a watch once whilst I was gone.
The final was over, Italy were champions, Italy, France…didn’t matter much to me, its just about who is partying the most. So we drop off our bags, a bit oiled from the flight. Systems were fired up. We went looking for the masses and we didn’t have to look far, anyway so we ask this cab driver to take us to a place where it would be rocking, he takes us away from the masses to a club that would ordinarily be rocking, but not that night (being a Sunday and all…duhhh!!), but we decide its all good, there are quite a few people in the streets we will see what we can make of this. Wasn’t too long before we found plenty people. Tell them you are South African and all they can say is 2010 we will be there and then they shove you with loads of booze, tell them u were born in Ghana… make plenty of mates…sports is a beautiful thing. Anyway so at about 3 or so we decide to move on and head to another place on our way we come across this Brazilian marching parade of sorts, whole bunch of people beating, drums and blowing trumpets. They were going the opposite direction, ie heading to where we had come from. They were festive. Oh what the hell, we turned and joined in, it was a ripper. To make matters worse, Lebo got hold of a vu-vu-zela (plastic trumpet used by many South African soccer supporters, it was over. We marched in the streets till the sun was coming up. At this time our mates had left us and I was hitting the wall big time. But Lebo and his vu-vu-zela were in their element. Many an hour passed, I was moeg, had no idea where I was or where we were going to sleep. Anyway I managed to convince Lebo to go. We made it as far as an open park in front of a few offices. Lebo decided to take a seat, followed by a lie down, followed by a little laugh, followed by snoring. Oh well, so I took my fone and my wallet, put it in my one pocket and slept on that side of my body, to give would be burglars a tough time if they wanted to rob me J. I slept hard but not for no longer than an hour. Woke up to a ‘hey man!’ from Lebo, looked around, plenty other people from the marching carnival had sought refuge in the park too, but the worst part was there were plenty people missioning off to work, I felt very arb, ag but I was on leave. Anyway so we made it back to civilisation, sorted out a hotel to stay in for that night and the next.
Had a few experiences in Berlin, first off was we all went to visit my mates family and across the road was a brothel, I had never ventured into one neither had any of my companions, my mates cousin say go take a look. And shocked indeed I was. The décor was dodgy, looked very old and minging, but that wasn’t the shock. We sat there had a drink like you would any other bar, but once again that wasn’t the shock. There were some scantily clad lasses there, nope not the shock. So we are sitting there at the door, to the balcony that is overlooked by many apartments across the road, trying to catch some air cos it was a bit of a warm nite. In the corner of my eye I see this object moving back and forth like, but I cant make it out, at first I think its someone’s arm after a few more glances and the ferocity of the movement growing I realise it’s a woman’s backside moving to and fro, the thought never occurred to me that they were doing the dirty right there, because they have rooms for that. Curiosity got the better of me and I stood up to go take a closer look, and yes they were! I was shocked. It was a ripper!
Germany doesn’t care, every other shop is a sex shop we went past parks where people park off naked it’s a joke. We are sitting at this café looking for a burger some guy offers us coke (cocaine) which he had wrapped neatly in a ball in his mouth. My freakiest experience in my life happened to me in Berlin. So we decide its time to go find our hotel, we catch a bus to the vicinity and drag our suitcases through the streets. Its roughly 3am in the morning. We see this woman walking her dog, at 3am in the damn morning?!! But that’s not the freaky part, uh huh, the whole time we were missioning for our rooms, I felt a very heavy, negative presence all around me, it was freaky, cos I don’t freak out too easily. It was getting a bit much so I stop and ask Lebo, boss is it cos I am tired or do you feel like there is something that’s not right here, he said bra I was going to ask you the same thing. Anyway we decide its best to just find our hotel, we walk a few more metres, stop at the corner of a street just to re-orientate ourselves. Out of nowhere we hear a voice screeching something we couldn’t make out. We looked at each other, grabbed our bags and high tailed out of there. Needless to say that it took no time for us to find our hotel. Stayed there for a couple of days, nice city Berlin is, quite insane that it could be so divided, we went on a open air bus trip, nice to see the city, but hardly caught any of the names of places or significance thereof cos the lass spoke maily German…hmmm
From there off to Amsterdam, caught a train, took but a few hours and in a new city we were, it was just after 11pm, had nowhere to sleep, once again. Made some mates with some Canadian guys, who told us of this place where they were staying right in the heart of the red light district, I wasn’t too excited about that (tsk tsk) but oh what the hell, so we went with them. [Strolling through the streets we were greeted by the distinct smell of Mary J, ripper, nobody shy about smoking it neither, a different world I tell u]. Guess what? They were full, so the lady at the front was nice enough to phone around for us and she found us another place, they told her 50 euros, per night which was schweet. We get there and the guy tells us 70 Euros, still schweet, but I was bleak cos that’s bad business, cos he thinks we are desperate, but I quite loathe getting f***ed over, so anyway we take a look at the rooms, and they are properly minging! I say to Lebo, boss I am going to mission till I find a place that’s at least half decent, its late, he’s tired, I fully understand he was bleak. He managed to get the rate reduced to 60 euros but I said nooit. We missioned for an hour and a bit but finally my negotiation skills shone through. Someone bit. It was about 1.30 came to this styling looking hotel, young person at the desk I say to him how much for a night, the dude says 120 euros, I say ‘nigga’ please, I tell him I have a place offering me 60 euros, yours is empty and may well stay empty for the night, I think your boss would be happier with 60 euros than naught, cos I am sure out of season you go well below 70 euros, he says 90 I say 70 he says 85 I say 70, eventually I get my 70 plus another 2 for taxes…score. Enter the room, fantastic, clean, aircon, shower, toilet, tv. Oops shower, hmm, shower curtain busted, oh no, call guy in front, guy comes says oh no, we can move you but a mission. I say don’t worry how about you throw in breakfast (see breakfast was excluded cos I took him down to 70 euros) he says schweet I think…score!! It was a beautiful day J. Want to hear a funny story, so on the last day in Amsterdam we decide not to check in because we were going to sort out an early train ride to Paris, as early as 6.30. The hotel was kind enough to let us leave our bags in their storage room so we could roam freely. And freely we roamed, a bit too free because we walked all over Amsterdam. We came across a market, where we lost each other. A good few hours later we met up again and went through the streets. We finally finished our wanderings a little after 3 (I think 3 was our magical no). Now it didn’t make sense to go to the hotel for 3 hours, so what do we do, well we had bus passes that allowed us to hop on and off busses at any time, so how do we kill time, well lets hop onto this bus and see what route it takes. So bus one, didn’t see the route, before I knew it, we were back at the starting point 1 hour less to waste, another bus, different route, through the burbs, even saw the Ajax Amsterdam grounds. Hour later, bus returned to the station, driver screams last stop. One more hour to kill…next bus, round and round we go. Bus returns, just after 6. fetch bags, enter train, find seats all in a days work. Train leave station before you know it…Paris North station
My intention was to make my way down to my friend who lives near Toulouse cos I have already done Paris, but it was Bastille Day, okes were bleak to be working or maybe not liking the fact that I was speaking English to them or they just didn’t like me, cos people weren’t being too helpful. Anyway so I finally get some assistance and the told me it would take about as long if not longer than my trip from Amsterdam. I would have loved to venture into French wine country, but this amazing race sort of missioning was taking its toll, it was hot, I was tired, needed to shower, had hay fever…Paris was sounding a great alternative. Really do love that place though you don’t have to do much but its just such a beautiful place. Anyway didn’t really do much we stayed with Daniel and his girlfriend and really just mellowed out, walked around abit, through the parks etc, only thing I thought was missing was my Thash. I needed to chill a bit so after 2 days I headed back to London caught up with some friends and family I hadn’t seen in years.
Enter Saturday the real reason I went to Europe, my mates Vaughan and Victoria got hitched. Beautiful wedding it was. It was held in a place called Swallowfield near Reading. Another first…I actively participated in my first garter throwing ‘ritual’ only cos my mate was saying that he has been to 10 wedding and caught 9 of them and there was no way he would not get this one. Guess what? Its lacy, its light blue, its mine hee hee hee. From there I took a trip over to Oxford to visit Saul and Mandy, beautiful place that. Oxford or London, give me Oxford any day. Even went to the place they filmed Harry Potter…Christ Church College.
And so it ended and I am tired of writing. Thanks to all whom I saw, and the others another time perhaps. Thanks again to Nana, Daniel and Eddie for hosting us and to Jenn for all the help. Other than that a welcome to my cousin Bo, if you find this email to be clogging your mail box drop me a line, alternatively if u have any comments on how to improve this mail or topics of interest please do drop me a line.
Quote
“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”
“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”
On that note I end, maximum respect.
Y
Friday, June 30, 2006
So are the Stars about to lose their shine? Well 90 min on Tuesday the 27th June 2006 will tell all. I believe they can show Brazil what African football has to offer, but will they? Time will tell. Many are going on about how well they have done to get this far, my sentiments exactly, but I add on to that, true winners rise in the face of adversity. What did Sean Connery say in the movie The Rock… “Losers try, winners go home and f#@k the prom queen”.
Ok so I was a bit harsh on John Pansil (the guy with the Israeli flag), yes he plays for Tel Aviv, but bra come on now?! Anyway moving swiftly along. A response to last weeks email…
Malaria- not an arb disease, the statistics are horrendous and if it was arb someone would have found a way to eliminate it. Go bill and melinda!diamonds, oil etc- well that is largely simple economics- demand and supply. Although one does need to give some credit to our friends at De Beers with their brilliant marketing - "diamonds are forever" ring a bell. Gold- again scarce resource but I agree Its value is largely linked to legacy. – Sarah
Well as I am sure you can see I started writing this on Monday, with the hope of getting it out by Tuesday, but alas…
I would like to write a long detailed but I cant cos its 18h00 on Friday evening, just finished closing out my work to do list, there is a soccer game on and I am off.
If I can leave you with a few thoughts, clichés they may be but true they defiantly are. This life we live is no dress rehersal (got it from somewhere recently) you only have one shot at it, regret not for any decision you made/make was the right one at that time, it was necessary to steer your life in the direction it was meant to head. Settle not because you deserve better, be the change you want to see/live. On that rather deep note I resign myself to a few days of traveling and contemplating life love and everything else, may you all stay well, till we next chat again. Nadia, hope you are recovering well, anyone else who has not been feeling all that well mentally and physically, hope the angels of good health are guiding your way.
What more can I say other than welcome to Sam, hope you enjoy our little community, should you have any comments to add, please go to www.mondaymail.blogspot.com or drop me a line on suggestions or comments or anything in general.
Birthdays
26th June Kemi
27th Tebo, Sean and Gail
29th Simone L
30th Alun
1st July Tracey L and Keith
3rd Jennifer
8th Dinesh
11th Rudi and Santie
12th Yao
15th Naeem and Garth
22nd Michelle W
24th Vusi
25th Elmar and Poms
26th Gina
27th Mike and Courtney
28th Jele, Reider, folks anniversary
29th Sheya
30th Eddie M, Will Lee
“do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not, but remember, that what you have now was once among the things you only hoped for” – unknown
Maximum respect, Y
Ok so I was a bit harsh on John Pansil (the guy with the Israeli flag), yes he plays for Tel Aviv, but bra come on now?! Anyway moving swiftly along. A response to last weeks email…
Malaria- not an arb disease, the statistics are horrendous and if it was arb someone would have found a way to eliminate it. Go bill and melinda!diamonds, oil etc- well that is largely simple economics- demand and supply. Although one does need to give some credit to our friends at De Beers with their brilliant marketing - "diamonds are forever" ring a bell. Gold- again scarce resource but I agree Its value is largely linked to legacy. – Sarah
Well as I am sure you can see I started writing this on Monday, with the hope of getting it out by Tuesday, but alas…
I would like to write a long detailed but I cant cos its 18h00 on Friday evening, just finished closing out my work to do list, there is a soccer game on and I am off.
If I can leave you with a few thoughts, clichés they may be but true they defiantly are. This life we live is no dress rehersal (got it from somewhere recently) you only have one shot at it, regret not for any decision you made/make was the right one at that time, it was necessary to steer your life in the direction it was meant to head. Settle not because you deserve better, be the change you want to see/live. On that rather deep note I resign myself to a few days of traveling and contemplating life love and everything else, may you all stay well, till we next chat again. Nadia, hope you are recovering well, anyone else who has not been feeling all that well mentally and physically, hope the angels of good health are guiding your way.
What more can I say other than welcome to Sam, hope you enjoy our little community, should you have any comments to add, please go to www.mondaymail.blogspot.com or drop me a line on suggestions or comments or anything in general.
Birthdays
26th June Kemi
27th Tebo, Sean and Gail
29th Simone L
30th Alun
1st July Tracey L and Keith
3rd Jennifer
8th Dinesh
11th Rudi and Santie
12th Yao
15th Naeem and Garth
22nd Michelle W
24th Vusi
25th Elmar and Poms
26th Gina
27th Mike and Courtney
28th Jele, Reider, folks anniversary
29th Sheya
30th Eddie M, Will Lee
“do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not, but remember, that what you have now was once among the things you only hoped for” – unknown
Maximum respect, Y
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Sunday morning sun is shining… Glorious day on this side of the world I tell u, u would never guess that its winter. And to cap it off the Black Stars of Ghana did this continent proud at the world cup, not even close to getting ahead of myself, but it was a convincing display scoreline should have been much better, but in the words of Jake White, and lets not even discuss that pathetic rugby showing ‘a win is a win’ the difference is that at least my negroes tried to play a constructive game, my only issue and its burning me still is why that brother was branding the Isreali flag around like that, bra emancipate yourself from mental slavery!!!
This week isn’t going to be a formal email about anyone in particular, but just some thoughts I’d like to share with u all. I am sure many of you are thinking this, cos I have been thinking this for a while and a few weeks ago I was having a discussion with a mate at work and then last week I am just shooting the breeze with another bra and he had the exact thoughts I had which once again was a ripper and a sure sign.
Do you ever get the feeling that this world or life that we live is a fat joke, that there is an organisation running the show? No I haven’t lost the plot well at least I don’t think so, but then again which crazy people actually believe that they have? ;-).
Man has managed many years ago to put create a craft that is so heavy that it ploughed into a mighty building, it could bring it to the ground yet it has the ability to defy gravity and ‘float’ in the sky like a weightless bird. Man has managed to propel a large craft out of the earths atmosphere and place it on the moon. BUT there are still millions dying from an ‘arb’ disease like malaria?!!! The one phenomenon that blows my mind still is the fact that we have not been able to find a substitute to oil as yet! Well it has been reported though that in Brazil the have developed a substitute which involves converting wheat or some grain into fuel that can power a motor vehicle, currently apparently it is not a cost effective substitute…LIES!!! Someone has a bigger agenda out there that’s what I say.
Then there is this mineral called gold, a yellow metal that the world places so much value on. I mean what the f*&%!Yes its historical and since time in memoriam its been the known currency, wealth has been gauged on how much gold you possessed blah blah fish paste, I think its all a fat joke! Then there are diamonds really, who came out and said this odd looking stone should have so much value placed on it? Don’t tell me about them being scarce or precious or whatever, its just a fat joke how indoctrinated we are with bull and we just lap it up. Case in point Tanzenite, a couple of thousand rand for this blue stone that just came from no where and now we all place so much value on it,
You think that show Prison Break is a lie, you know the fact that there is a corporation running America? I doubt it, cos which sane person would inaugurate a person like George W into power ;-)
Think about it. But till then babe how many carrats do you want J Hope u all have a ripper week I am pretty excited for the next 2 weeks cos once I get through them I have a few weeks off, my first big leave since June 2004, so looking forward to kicking up my heels. Heading off the UK and plan to travel for a bit hopefully I will get a Schengen Visa. If any of you are travelling in July through Europe and are looking for company please holler, cos I am not looking forward to heading off on my own. I have no idea of where I want to go, definitely heading to France and maybe Greece, but very open to suggestions.
12th Carl, Mark, Sam
13th Fifi
17th Laila
18th Sarah Taaffe, Lebo Baloyi
20th Kgashane, Jacob
21st Hamish, Simone
23rd Peter K, Red Head Ed
24th Gretchen
Well that’s all folks (picture in your minds ear that loney tunes jingle)
Maximum respect
Y
This week isn’t going to be a formal email about anyone in particular, but just some thoughts I’d like to share with u all. I am sure many of you are thinking this, cos I have been thinking this for a while and a few weeks ago I was having a discussion with a mate at work and then last week I am just shooting the breeze with another bra and he had the exact thoughts I had which once again was a ripper and a sure sign.
Do you ever get the feeling that this world or life that we live is a fat joke, that there is an organisation running the show? No I haven’t lost the plot well at least I don’t think so, but then again which crazy people actually believe that they have? ;-).
Man has managed many years ago to put create a craft that is so heavy that it ploughed into a mighty building, it could bring it to the ground yet it has the ability to defy gravity and ‘float’ in the sky like a weightless bird. Man has managed to propel a large craft out of the earths atmosphere and place it on the moon. BUT there are still millions dying from an ‘arb’ disease like malaria?!!! The one phenomenon that blows my mind still is the fact that we have not been able to find a substitute to oil as yet! Well it has been reported though that in Brazil the have developed a substitute which involves converting wheat or some grain into fuel that can power a motor vehicle, currently apparently it is not a cost effective substitute…LIES!!! Someone has a bigger agenda out there that’s what I say.
Then there is this mineral called gold, a yellow metal that the world places so much value on. I mean what the f*&%!Yes its historical and since time in memoriam its been the known currency, wealth has been gauged on how much gold you possessed blah blah fish paste, I think its all a fat joke! Then there are diamonds really, who came out and said this odd looking stone should have so much value placed on it? Don’t tell me about them being scarce or precious or whatever, its just a fat joke how indoctrinated we are with bull and we just lap it up. Case in point Tanzenite, a couple of thousand rand for this blue stone that just came from no where and now we all place so much value on it,
You think that show Prison Break is a lie, you know the fact that there is a corporation running America? I doubt it, cos which sane person would inaugurate a person like George W into power ;-)
Think about it. But till then babe how many carrats do you want J Hope u all have a ripper week I am pretty excited for the next 2 weeks cos once I get through them I have a few weeks off, my first big leave since June 2004, so looking forward to kicking up my heels. Heading off the UK and plan to travel for a bit hopefully I will get a Schengen Visa. If any of you are travelling in July through Europe and are looking for company please holler, cos I am not looking forward to heading off on my own. I have no idea of where I want to go, definitely heading to France and maybe Greece, but very open to suggestions.
12th Carl, Mark, Sam
13th Fifi
17th Laila
18th Sarah Taaffe, Lebo Baloyi
20th Kgashane, Jacob
21st Hamish, Simone
23rd Peter K, Red Head Ed
24th Gretchen
Well that’s all folks (picture in your minds ear that loney tunes jingle)
Maximum respect
Y
Friday, June 09, 2006
Can a man not want to sell his car without the whole world asking whether or not he is skipping the country or broke? To answer peoples questions I am not emigrating overseas, I have been wanting to sell my Betty for a while now and now its time to stop paying it lip service. With the exchange rate swinging as it has in the last few days and I don’t see it getting any better, I thought I may liquidate some possessions which are redundant (cos I got me a more high class set of decks…which are hardly used, but a story for another time) as well as get some tenants in my CT house to hedge myself a bit. I hope that answers your questions.
A welcome to another member of the mailing list, Fred, welcome to our little community. If you have any topics of interest or comments kindly drop me a line or visit www.mondaymail.blogspot.com. Alternatively should you wish to remove yourself from the list please let me know.
Yes I have been gone a while, I have been very flat and very uninspired to be honest. No worries life is still peachy, just haven’t been amped to write I guess. This email is thanks to Tracey at work. Anyway…how are things with y’all. Hope that everyone has been feeling on top of the world you know the kind of feeling you get when you see an ex boyfriend or girlfriend and they are looking sooo wack!
As a result of what happened earlier today, the South African reserve bank raising the repo rate by 0.50% thanks largely to the continuously rising oil prices which will inevitably result in an increase in inflation which is currently projected to be beyond the reserve banks target range. So whats driving this rise in oil prices? Well last time I wrote that Iran had something to do with it. Well Iran isn’t the only thing, there is also this guy called Hugo Chavez (Venezuela’s president) labelled by Americans as the trouble maker. He in return has called President Bush as a pendejo “dum bass” and Miz Ricen a “complete illiterate”.
He came to power in 1999 and since then his agenda has been the social upliftment of his nations poor. 2 of his main projects since taking up poverty was anti-corruption and anti-poverty. Since taking office his government has made education available to a fair amount of his country’s poor. His anti-poverty campaign involves the eradication of illiteracy. This has been set in motion by the establishment of a large number of missions all over Venezuela. This has resulted in more than 1 million more adults becoming literate. His government has built medical schools and clinics which are free to the poor. As part of his anti-poverty campaign he has also had land reform and land redistribution policies invoked. Increased taxes on large foreign companies, provided food and housing subsidies. In his early reign his focus was on attracting foreign direct investment to spur the economy and create jobs. His current stance of increased taxes and nationalisation of foreign company assets may be undoing this somewhat, but we’ll get back to that one.
He has been in the news quite a bit lately. He has publicly stood up against the US government. He blames America for fuelling a coup that ousted him briefly between the 11/04/2002 and the 13/04/2002. He publically came out and stated that US backed Free Trade Area of the Americas was dead. He has also ordered all active duty US military personnel to leave his country. He has increased the corporate tax rate significantly. He has also unanimously decided to nationalise the assets of some large foreign companies, particularly those that are in the oil business. His thinking is well the oil is our natural resource and I think its only right that we get a larger piece of the pie (lets forget that you guys brought the infrastructure and the know-how here which is enabling us to extract this oil)
Another thing he has done is forged close alliances with a fair amount of his equally poor neighbours on the Latin American continent. He has increased his arms purchases from Brazil, taking business away from the US, he offers Cuba oil for expertise, he is said to have funded a $300 mil gas pipeline set to provide discounted natural gas to Columbia. He has also offered Argentina oil for meat.
Apparently after Hurricane Katrina, his government was the first to offer assistance to the US in the form of food, water, mobile hospitals, medical specialists, power generators 1mil barrels of petroleum as well as hugely discounted heating fuel to the affected poor. Guess what Americas response was…Thanks but no thanks!
From the tone this email is taking it almost sounds as if president Chavez is an angel, uh huh, far from it. If you step in his way he squashes u. He has instituted a law ala Bob Mugabe that prohibits public criticism of government figures, which could result in 40 months imprisonment or even more depending on the severity of the offence. He had a failed attempted coup in 1992 which landed him in jail for 2 years or so. He once dismissed 19000 workers who opposed his views on limiting oil production which would result in increased oil prices hence excess reserves for the government with which to complete his social development plans. In 1999 following weeks of unprecedented rainfall he ignored the signs and approx 30000 of his nations poor lost their lives either by being swept out to sea or buried in mudslides. His country has been catalogued by Amnesty International for human rights violations but none have been confirmed.
Anyway, enough about the man. I am pretty torn on this one. Once again a case of a plausible cause being achieved through questionable means. But I guess its something that we don’t do too much of on this continent and that’s saying guys I am tired of being sc rewed over, lets have a situation where we both win please. Many an African nation, rich in minerals and know how is in such a shocking state because what happened is they came, they raped, they left, we live still live in squalor. But then again you want foreign direct investment and this is best achieved in providing an economic or political climate that promotes stability and trust in your nation. This can never be achieved by telling your foreign held companies that as of now we are 50% shareholders in your business! The oil companies have decided to stay on because they are still making plenty tom inspite of it all. Enough of my views on this because I have plenty to say on this hope to get some of your views on www.mondaymail.blogspot.com or mail me back.
Otherwise let the games begin, go The Black Stars (Ghanaian national soccer team). Whew as much as I would like the boys to succeed, I am a realist, its one tight group, no 2, 5 and 13 in the world are our group mates, in the words of Eddie and the other J-Flat boys…”…its tight G”! Please prove me wrong.
On that note that’s me for the week. A couple of birthdays I missed whilst I was away…
22nd May – Lance
23rd May – Auntie Millie
24th May– Amrain
27th May – Monica
29th May – Nyame K, Lauren and Delia
31st May – AC and Nana Yaa
2nd June – Mame Ekua
6th June – Helen
9th June – Ivan and Rudi
If I missed yours my humblest apologies.
Maximum respect
Y
PS I have 2 more vehicles on sale
2002 Ford Fiesta Flite
Kitted out Honda Civic
2000 E-class Mercedes benz with low mileage
If you are interested in any of these holler…I think I could make a living from this advertising stuff hey
A welcome to another member of the mailing list, Fred, welcome to our little community. If you have any topics of interest or comments kindly drop me a line or visit www.mondaymail.blogspot.com. Alternatively should you wish to remove yourself from the list please let me know.
Yes I have been gone a while, I have been very flat and very uninspired to be honest. No worries life is still peachy, just haven’t been amped to write I guess. This email is thanks to Tracey at work. Anyway…how are things with y’all. Hope that everyone has been feeling on top of the world you know the kind of feeling you get when you see an ex boyfriend or girlfriend and they are looking sooo wack!
As a result of what happened earlier today, the South African reserve bank raising the repo rate by 0.50% thanks largely to the continuously rising oil prices which will inevitably result in an increase in inflation which is currently projected to be beyond the reserve banks target range. So whats driving this rise in oil prices? Well last time I wrote that Iran had something to do with it. Well Iran isn’t the only thing, there is also this guy called Hugo Chavez (Venezuela’s president) labelled by Americans as the trouble maker. He in return has called President Bush as a pendejo “dum bass” and Miz Ricen a “complete illiterate”.
He came to power in 1999 and since then his agenda has been the social upliftment of his nations poor. 2 of his main projects since taking up poverty was anti-corruption and anti-poverty. Since taking office his government has made education available to a fair amount of his country’s poor. His anti-poverty campaign involves the eradication of illiteracy. This has been set in motion by the establishment of a large number of missions all over Venezuela. This has resulted in more than 1 million more adults becoming literate. His government has built medical schools and clinics which are free to the poor. As part of his anti-poverty campaign he has also had land reform and land redistribution policies invoked. Increased taxes on large foreign companies, provided food and housing subsidies. In his early reign his focus was on attracting foreign direct investment to spur the economy and create jobs. His current stance of increased taxes and nationalisation of foreign company assets may be undoing this somewhat, but we’ll get back to that one.
He has been in the news quite a bit lately. He has publicly stood up against the US government. He blames America for fuelling a coup that ousted him briefly between the 11/04/2002 and the 13/04/2002. He publically came out and stated that US backed Free Trade Area of the Americas was dead. He has also ordered all active duty US military personnel to leave his country. He has increased the corporate tax rate significantly. He has also unanimously decided to nationalise the assets of some large foreign companies, particularly those that are in the oil business. His thinking is well the oil is our natural resource and I think its only right that we get a larger piece of the pie (lets forget that you guys brought the infrastructure and the know-how here which is enabling us to extract this oil)
Another thing he has done is forged close alliances with a fair amount of his equally poor neighbours on the Latin American continent. He has increased his arms purchases from Brazil, taking business away from the US, he offers Cuba oil for expertise, he is said to have funded a $300 mil gas pipeline set to provide discounted natural gas to Columbia. He has also offered Argentina oil for meat.
Apparently after Hurricane Katrina, his government was the first to offer assistance to the US in the form of food, water, mobile hospitals, medical specialists, power generators 1mil barrels of petroleum as well as hugely discounted heating fuel to the affected poor. Guess what Americas response was…Thanks but no thanks!
From the tone this email is taking it almost sounds as if president Chavez is an angel, uh huh, far from it. If you step in his way he squashes u. He has instituted a law ala Bob Mugabe that prohibits public criticism of government figures, which could result in 40 months imprisonment or even more depending on the severity of the offence. He had a failed attempted coup in 1992 which landed him in jail for 2 years or so. He once dismissed 19000 workers who opposed his views on limiting oil production which would result in increased oil prices hence excess reserves for the government with which to complete his social development plans. In 1999 following weeks of unprecedented rainfall he ignored the signs and approx 30000 of his nations poor lost their lives either by being swept out to sea or buried in mudslides. His country has been catalogued by Amnesty International for human rights violations but none have been confirmed.
Anyway, enough about the man. I am pretty torn on this one. Once again a case of a plausible cause being achieved through questionable means. But I guess its something that we don’t do too much of on this continent and that’s saying guys I am tired of being sc rewed over, lets have a situation where we both win please. Many an African nation, rich in minerals and know how is in such a shocking state because what happened is they came, they raped, they left, we live still live in squalor. But then again you want foreign direct investment and this is best achieved in providing an economic or political climate that promotes stability and trust in your nation. This can never be achieved by telling your foreign held companies that as of now we are 50% shareholders in your business! The oil companies have decided to stay on because they are still making plenty tom inspite of it all. Enough of my views on this because I have plenty to say on this hope to get some of your views on www.mondaymail.blogspot.com or mail me back.
Otherwise let the games begin, go The Black Stars (Ghanaian national soccer team). Whew as much as I would like the boys to succeed, I am a realist, its one tight group, no 2, 5 and 13 in the world are our group mates, in the words of Eddie and the other J-Flat boys…”…its tight G”! Please prove me wrong.
On that note that’s me for the week. A couple of birthdays I missed whilst I was away…
22nd May – Lance
23rd May – Auntie Millie
24th May– Amrain
27th May – Monica
29th May – Nyame K, Lauren and Delia
31st May – AC and Nana Yaa
2nd June – Mame Ekua
6th June – Helen
9th June – Ivan and Rudi
If I missed yours my humblest apologies.
Maximum respect
Y
PS I have 2 more vehicles on sale
2002 Ford Fiesta Flite
Kitted out Honda Civic
2000 E-class Mercedes benz with low mileage
If you are interested in any of these holler…I think I could make a living from this advertising stuff hey
Friday, May 12, 2006
So now there is this big wow about Picasso and Africa, an exhibition of Picasso’s work that Standard Bank has done rather well to bring to some of South Africa’s galleries. Many people have asked me if I have been and my answer had always been nooit, not of much interest to me really. But yesterday I got a kind invitation to attend with the bank and some clients and I thought, home alone watching tv or catch a rare cultural experience…opted for the latter and donned my work kit and off I went. We were ushered around his works by a lady who confidently spoke about the works of Picasso. All good and well, BUT where was she or any one else when he was painting or sculpting his work. Call me ignorant, which I will openly accept on this subject matter, but I cant believe that when Picasso was painting/sculpting he told people I am doing this because of that and this is the emotion I am experiencing hence why I have expressed my artwork as follows…She then went on to say that his work is not abstract, now if any of you have gone to see his work, there is a rather messy, but ‘artistic’ painting that he completed in a day, I have zero idea what to make of it, its not a man, its not a woman, its not a car, a house, a dog, mountain, I cant make heads or tails of it, now u tell me that is not abstract?!!! Someone paid $98mil for some of his work, I aint so sure about that, but as the saying goes to each their own. Some of his work is pretty schweet, but sheesh boss, there is this pencil drawing of an antelope and another which is supposed to be a woman I think, made up of lines and circles in yellow, red etc, boss it’s the kinda shaite that I did in sub B, std 1 and other than my folks telling me wow, aint nobody put that shaite in no art gallery, sheeee I coulda been rolling in the moola!!
Moving swiftly along. So I come back from leave last week and I am going through my inbox and I get an email from my boy JC all the way out in Munich. 2 fantastic email topics. I really hope it sparks much debate. All credit must go to JC though cos he droped me a great email with plenty ideas and questions. Thanks boss.
I actually started doing some research on this and decided to can it and write off the cuff using Johns email as guidance.
There is this guy of slight build, a few blocks from his house lives this brut, Biff, who sees himself as the guardian of the neighbourhood, Biff goes to gym everyday and always carries nunchucks in his back pocket. He claims they are merely for defence, even though everyone who lives in the hood has known of times where even though he didn't use his nunchucks, he has been known to display excessive force on his neighbours’ when he feels the need, even when the cops tell him that he shouldn't, but the cops turn a blind eye anyway. Now when his neighbours, decide to use their own cash to get a personal trainer and hit the gym twice a day, 6 times a week (cos you need rest otherwise u get muscle fatigue, so they say) and they decide to get some nunchucks too, basically so that they can keep their body and mind in check and also possibly to defend themselves just incase biff dude decides to slap them around a bit, biff says guys if i see you going to the gym i will beat u, not only that i will not rule out using my nunchucks neither!
Questions in my mind firstly are:
1) Who died and made Biff king of the castle?
2) What gives biff the right to be able to get to a level where he can protect himself and others cant?
3) If I live in a hood, who must i answer to, Biff, the cops, noone?
4) If i want to go to gym for health's sake or for defence sake, who should stop me?
Think about your answers to those questions and apply them to this that i write below
The oil price is pumping at the moment i know cos our fuel price is going up again next week, i think it just went up by some ridiculous amount a few days/weeks ago, its insane, commuters are going to get it, store owners are going to see it as a gap to increase food prices, inflation, interest rates, eish!! But thats not what i am on about. The latest surge in oil prices, post Katrina, came about roughly the same time as Iran stepped to the plate and made it known to the world that it is in the process of enhancing its nuclear capabilities.
Now lets see, Iran is a relatively small country (in comparison to the US). It is known to have vast oil reserves. It has not in anyway vocally or directly threatened any other country in the world. What it has done is it has played its cards upfront, as have South Korea (I think it was), and have said we are developing our nuclear capabilities our intentions are not to harm the world but to enhance the lives of our citizens. My thoughts are well good for you! The US says uh huh, bad boy! You cant be developing any nuclear capabilities, only we can!
Recent history has shown the whole world that the US does not really behave in an altogether honest and above board manner when it comes to ‘defending the world’. If one had to sit and really think about it, what were they doing in Afghanistan? Delivering the Afghanistan people from the human rights atrocities that were being committed against them, well I know at least 2 countries on this continent where it has been reported that such atrocities are being committed, Sudan and Zim come to mind, but I don’t see any GI Joes rolling in there at pace. Lets be honest, cos there is no upside for the US to invade those countries and ‘liberate’ them.
I don’t trust the current US government at all, I think its intentions are purely selfish. They have a nuclear arsenal and they claim its for defence, Russia also have one if I am not mistaken and that is also claimed to be for defence, every country that has a nuclear arsenal claims its for defence, and just as I have the right to defend myself and my home, just like a bank hires armed guards to protect its cash, I feel that every country in the world has the right to defend itself against intruders, particularly if I have large oil reserves that may be tempting for some other country to invade me for. Who in this world has the right to tell me that I can not develop a nuclear arsenal to defend my land and its people? And who are you to tell me that because of my past or the people I govern, my intentions are not as I say.
Is it cos I is Muslim? That’s honestly the only explanation I can come up with and if that’s it then all I can say is that’s Bull s**t! Just as you and you people have the right to live as you please, who are you to come into my land which is believed to have been amongst the first regions in the world to show signs of the earliest forms of civilisation on earth (even before Mesopotamia) and tell me I must live like you? Perhaps it’s the fears that the weapons may fall in the hands of terrorists?
I have just past my 2 page limit, still have plenty to say, but I must stop there, I think I have planted many seeds I hope, hopefully we can get some debate out from this. www.mondaymail.blogspot.com or just mail me.
That’s me for this week
Birthdays
5th Nana and Peace
6th Taz
7th Shakira
9th Nana S
10th Adjoa
11th Liezl
12th Dearest mother
13th Mel and Andrew
Busy month this, anyway that’s me for this week hope this mail finds you all well. Take care and have a great weekend.
Respect
Y
Moving swiftly along. So I come back from leave last week and I am going through my inbox and I get an email from my boy JC all the way out in Munich. 2 fantastic email topics. I really hope it sparks much debate. All credit must go to JC though cos he droped me a great email with plenty ideas and questions. Thanks boss.
I actually started doing some research on this and decided to can it and write off the cuff using Johns email as guidance.
There is this guy of slight build, a few blocks from his house lives this brut, Biff, who sees himself as the guardian of the neighbourhood, Biff goes to gym everyday and always carries nunchucks in his back pocket. He claims they are merely for defence, even though everyone who lives in the hood has known of times where even though he didn't use his nunchucks, he has been known to display excessive force on his neighbours’ when he feels the need, even when the cops tell him that he shouldn't, but the cops turn a blind eye anyway. Now when his neighbours, decide to use their own cash to get a personal trainer and hit the gym twice a day, 6 times a week (cos you need rest otherwise u get muscle fatigue, so they say) and they decide to get some nunchucks too, basically so that they can keep their body and mind in check and also possibly to defend themselves just incase biff dude decides to slap them around a bit, biff says guys if i see you going to the gym i will beat u, not only that i will not rule out using my nunchucks neither!
Questions in my mind firstly are:
1) Who died and made Biff king of the castle?
2) What gives biff the right to be able to get to a level where he can protect himself and others cant?
3) If I live in a hood, who must i answer to, Biff, the cops, noone?
4) If i want to go to gym for health's sake or for defence sake, who should stop me?
Think about your answers to those questions and apply them to this that i write below
The oil price is pumping at the moment i know cos our fuel price is going up again next week, i think it just went up by some ridiculous amount a few days/weeks ago, its insane, commuters are going to get it, store owners are going to see it as a gap to increase food prices, inflation, interest rates, eish!! But thats not what i am on about. The latest surge in oil prices, post Katrina, came about roughly the same time as Iran stepped to the plate and made it known to the world that it is in the process of enhancing its nuclear capabilities.
Now lets see, Iran is a relatively small country (in comparison to the US). It is known to have vast oil reserves. It has not in anyway vocally or directly threatened any other country in the world. What it has done is it has played its cards upfront, as have South Korea (I think it was), and have said we are developing our nuclear capabilities our intentions are not to harm the world but to enhance the lives of our citizens. My thoughts are well good for you! The US says uh huh, bad boy! You cant be developing any nuclear capabilities, only we can!
Recent history has shown the whole world that the US does not really behave in an altogether honest and above board manner when it comes to ‘defending the world’. If one had to sit and really think about it, what were they doing in Afghanistan? Delivering the Afghanistan people from the human rights atrocities that were being committed against them, well I know at least 2 countries on this continent where it has been reported that such atrocities are being committed, Sudan and Zim come to mind, but I don’t see any GI Joes rolling in there at pace. Lets be honest, cos there is no upside for the US to invade those countries and ‘liberate’ them.
I don’t trust the current US government at all, I think its intentions are purely selfish. They have a nuclear arsenal and they claim its for defence, Russia also have one if I am not mistaken and that is also claimed to be for defence, every country that has a nuclear arsenal claims its for defence, and just as I have the right to defend myself and my home, just like a bank hires armed guards to protect its cash, I feel that every country in the world has the right to defend itself against intruders, particularly if I have large oil reserves that may be tempting for some other country to invade me for. Who in this world has the right to tell me that I can not develop a nuclear arsenal to defend my land and its people? And who are you to tell me that because of my past or the people I govern, my intentions are not as I say.
Is it cos I is Muslim? That’s honestly the only explanation I can come up with and if that’s it then all I can say is that’s Bull s**t! Just as you and you people have the right to live as you please, who are you to come into my land which is believed to have been amongst the first regions in the world to show signs of the earliest forms of civilisation on earth (even before Mesopotamia) and tell me I must live like you? Perhaps it’s the fears that the weapons may fall in the hands of terrorists?
I have just past my 2 page limit, still have plenty to say, but I must stop there, I think I have planted many seeds I hope, hopefully we can get some debate out from this. www.mondaymail.blogspot.com or just mail me.
That’s me for this week
Birthdays
5th Nana and Peace
6th Taz
7th Shakira
9th Nana S
10th Adjoa
11th Liezl
12th Dearest mother
13th Mel and Andrew
Busy month this, anyway that’s me for this week hope this mail finds you all well. Take care and have a great weekend.
Respect
Y
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Botha speech 1985:
THE FOLLOWING is a speech made by former South African President P.W. Botha to his Cabinet. This reprint was written by David G. Mailu for the Sunday Times, dated August 18, 1985. "Pretoria has been made by the White mind for the White man. We are not obliged even the least to try to prove to anybody and to the Blacks that we are superior people. We have demonstrated that to the Blacks in a thousand and one ways. The Republic of South Africa that we know of today has not been created by wishful thinking. We have created it at the expense of intelligence, sweat and blood. Were they Afrikaners who tried to eliminate the Australian Aborigines? Are they Afrikaners who discriminate against Blacks and call them Nigge*rs in the States? Were they Afrikaners who started the slave trade? Where is the Black man appreciated? England discriminates against its Black and their "Sus" law is out to discipline the Blacks. Canada, France, Russia, and Japan all play their discrimination too. Why in the hell then is so much noise made about us? Why are they biased against us? I am simply trying to prove to you all that there is nothing unusual we are doing that the so called civilized worlds are not doing. We are simply an honest people who have come out aloud with a clear philosophy of how we want to live our own White life. We do not pretend like other Whites that we like Blacks. The fact that, Blacks look like human beings and act like human beings do not necessarily make them sensible human beings. Hedgehogs are not porcupines and lizards are not crocodiles simply because they look alike. If God wanted us to be equal to the Blacks, he would have created us all of a uniform colour and intellect. But he created us differently: Whites, Blacks, Yellow, Rulers and the ruled. Intellectually, we are superior to the Blacks; that has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt over the years. I believe that the Afrikaner is an honest, God fearing person, who has demonstrated practically the right way of being. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that behind the scenes, Europe, America, Canada, Australia-and all others are behind us in spite of what they say. For diplomatic relations, we all know what language should be used and where. To prove my point, Comrades, does anyone of you know a White country without an investment or interest in South Africa? Who buys our gold? Who buys our diamonds? Who trades with us? Who is helping us develop other nuclear weapon? The very truth is that we are their people and they are our people. It's a big secret. The strength of our economy is backed by America, Britain, Germany. It is our strong conviction, therefore, that the Black is the raw material for the White man. So Brothers and Sisters, let us join hands together to fight against this Black devil. I appeal to all Afrikaners to come out with any creative means of fighting this war. Surely God cannot forsake his own people whom we are. By now every one of us has seen it practically that the Blacks cannot rule themselves. Give them guns and they will kill each other. They are good in nothing else but making noise, dancing, marrying many wives and indulging in sex. Let us all accept that the Black man is the symbol of poverty, mental inferiority, laziness and emotional incompetence. Isn't it plausible? therefore that the White man is created to rule the Black man? Come to think of what would happen one day if you woke up and on the throne sat a Kaff*ir! Can you imagine what would happen to our women? Does anyone of you believe that the Blacks can rule this country? Hence, we have good reasons to let them all-the Mandelas-rot in prison, and I think we should be commended for having kept them alive in spite of what we have at hand with which to finish them off. I wish to announce a number of new strategies that should be put to use to destroy this Black bug. We should now make use of the chemical weapon. Priority number one, we should not by all means allow any more increases of the Black population lest we be choked very soon. I have exciting news that our scientists have come with an efficient stuff. I am sending out more researchers to the field to identify as many venues as possible where the chemical weapons could be employed to combat any further population increases. The hospital is a very strategic opening, for example and should be fully utilized. The food supply channel should be used. We have developed excellent slow killing poisons and fertility destroyers. Our only fear is in case such stuff came in! ! to their hands as they are bound to start using it against us if you care to think of the many Blacks working for us in our domestic quarters. However, we are doing the best we can to make sure that the stuff remains strictly in our hands. Secondly, most Blacks are vulnerable to money inducements. I have set aside a special fund to exploit this venue. The old trick of divide and rule is still very valid today. Our experts should work day and night to set the Black man against his fellowman. His inferior sense of morals can be exploited beautifully. And here is a creature that lacks foresight. There is a need for us to combat him in long term projections that he cannot suspect. The average Black does not plan his life beyond a year: that stance, for example, should be exploited. My special department is already working round the clock to come out with a long-term operation blueprint. I am also sending a special request to all Afrikaner mothers to double their birth rate. It may be necessary too to set up a population boom industry by putting up centres where we employ and support fully White young men and women to produce children for the nation. We are also investigating the merit of uterus rentals as a possible means of speeding up the growth of our population through surrogate mothers. For the time being, we should also engage a higher gear to make sure that Black men are separated from their women and fines imposed upon married wives who bear illegitimate children. I have a committee working on finding better methods of inciting Blacks against each other and encouraging murders among themselves. Murder cases among Blacks should bear very little punishment in order to encourage them. My scientists have come up with a drug that could be smuggled into their brews to effect slow poisoning results and fertility destruction. Working through drinks and manufacturing of soft drinks geared to the Blacks, could promote the channels of reducing their population. Ours is not a war that we can use the atomic bomb to destroy the Blacks, so we must use our intelligence to effect this. The person-to-person encounter can be very effective. As the records show that the Black man is dying to go to bed with the White woman, here is our unique opportunity. Our Sex Mercenary Squad should go out and camouflage with Apartheid Fighters while doing their operations quietly administering slow killing poison and fertility destroyers to those Blacks they thus befriend. We are modifying the Sex Mercenary Squad by introducing White men who should go for the militant Black woman and any other vulnerable Black woman. We have received a new supply of prostitutes from Europe and America who are desperate and too keen to take up the appointments. My latest appeal is that the maternity hospital operations should be intensified. We are not paying those people to help bring Black babies to this world but to eliminate them on the very delivery moment. If this department worked very efficiently, a great deal could be achieved. My Government has set aside a special fund for erecting more covert hospitals and clinics to promote this programme. Money can do anything for you. So while we have it, we should make the best use of it. In the meantime my beloved White citizens, do not take to heart what the world says, and don't be ashamed of being called racists. I do not mind being called the architect and King of Apartheid. I shall not become a monkey simply because someone has called me a monkey. I will still remain your bright star...His Excellency Botha. "
THE FOLLOWING is a speech made by former South African President P.W. Botha to his Cabinet. This reprint was written by David G. Mailu for the Sunday Times, dated August 18, 1985. "Pretoria has been made by the White mind for the White man. We are not obliged even the least to try to prove to anybody and to the Blacks that we are superior people. We have demonstrated that to the Blacks in a thousand and one ways. The Republic of South Africa that we know of today has not been created by wishful thinking. We have created it at the expense of intelligence, sweat and blood. Were they Afrikaners who tried to eliminate the Australian Aborigines? Are they Afrikaners who discriminate against Blacks and call them Nigge*rs in the States? Were they Afrikaners who started the slave trade? Where is the Black man appreciated? England discriminates against its Black and their "Sus" law is out to discipline the Blacks. Canada, France, Russia, and Japan all play their discrimination too. Why in the hell then is so much noise made about us? Why are they biased against us? I am simply trying to prove to you all that there is nothing unusual we are doing that the so called civilized worlds are not doing. We are simply an honest people who have come out aloud with a clear philosophy of how we want to live our own White life. We do not pretend like other Whites that we like Blacks. The fact that, Blacks look like human beings and act like human beings do not necessarily make them sensible human beings. Hedgehogs are not porcupines and lizards are not crocodiles simply because they look alike. If God wanted us to be equal to the Blacks, he would have created us all of a uniform colour and intellect. But he created us differently: Whites, Blacks, Yellow, Rulers and the ruled. Intellectually, we are superior to the Blacks; that has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt over the years. I believe that the Afrikaner is an honest, God fearing person, who has demonstrated practically the right way of being. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that behind the scenes, Europe, America, Canada, Australia-and all others are behind us in spite of what they say. For diplomatic relations, we all know what language should be used and where. To prove my point, Comrades, does anyone of you know a White country without an investment or interest in South Africa? Who buys our gold? Who buys our diamonds? Who trades with us? Who is helping us develop other nuclear weapon? The very truth is that we are their people and they are our people. It's a big secret. The strength of our economy is backed by America, Britain, Germany. It is our strong conviction, therefore, that the Black is the raw material for the White man. So Brothers and Sisters, let us join hands together to fight against this Black devil. I appeal to all Afrikaners to come out with any creative means of fighting this war. Surely God cannot forsake his own people whom we are. By now every one of us has seen it practically that the Blacks cannot rule themselves. Give them guns and they will kill each other. They are good in nothing else but making noise, dancing, marrying many wives and indulging in sex. Let us all accept that the Black man is the symbol of poverty, mental inferiority, laziness and emotional incompetence. Isn't it plausible? therefore that the White man is created to rule the Black man? Come to think of what would happen one day if you woke up and on the throne sat a Kaff*ir! Can you imagine what would happen to our women? Does anyone of you believe that the Blacks can rule this country? Hence, we have good reasons to let them all-the Mandelas-rot in prison, and I think we should be commended for having kept them alive in spite of what we have at hand with which to finish them off. I wish to announce a number of new strategies that should be put to use to destroy this Black bug. We should now make use of the chemical weapon. Priority number one, we should not by all means allow any more increases of the Black population lest we be choked very soon. I have exciting news that our scientists have come with an efficient stuff. I am sending out more researchers to the field to identify as many venues as possible where the chemical weapons could be employed to combat any further population increases. The hospital is a very strategic opening, for example and should be fully utilized. The food supply channel should be used. We have developed excellent slow killing poisons and fertility destroyers. Our only fear is in case such stuff came in! ! to their hands as they are bound to start using it against us if you care to think of the many Blacks working for us in our domestic quarters. However, we are doing the best we can to make sure that the stuff remains strictly in our hands. Secondly, most Blacks are vulnerable to money inducements. I have set aside a special fund to exploit this venue. The old trick of divide and rule is still very valid today. Our experts should work day and night to set the Black man against his fellowman. His inferior sense of morals can be exploited beautifully. And here is a creature that lacks foresight. There is a need for us to combat him in long term projections that he cannot suspect. The average Black does not plan his life beyond a year: that stance, for example, should be exploited. My special department is already working round the clock to come out with a long-term operation blueprint. I am also sending a special request to all Afrikaner mothers to double their birth rate. It may be necessary too to set up a population boom industry by putting up centres where we employ and support fully White young men and women to produce children for the nation. We are also investigating the merit of uterus rentals as a possible means of speeding up the growth of our population through surrogate mothers. For the time being, we should also engage a higher gear to make sure that Black men are separated from their women and fines imposed upon married wives who bear illegitimate children. I have a committee working on finding better methods of inciting Blacks against each other and encouraging murders among themselves. Murder cases among Blacks should bear very little punishment in order to encourage them. My scientists have come up with a drug that could be smuggled into their brews to effect slow poisoning results and fertility destruction. Working through drinks and manufacturing of soft drinks geared to the Blacks, could promote the channels of reducing their population. Ours is not a war that we can use the atomic bomb to destroy the Blacks, so we must use our intelligence to effect this. The person-to-person encounter can be very effective. As the records show that the Black man is dying to go to bed with the White woman, here is our unique opportunity. Our Sex Mercenary Squad should go out and camouflage with Apartheid Fighters while doing their operations quietly administering slow killing poison and fertility destroyers to those Blacks they thus befriend. We are modifying the Sex Mercenary Squad by introducing White men who should go for the militant Black woman and any other vulnerable Black woman. We have received a new supply of prostitutes from Europe and America who are desperate and too keen to take up the appointments. My latest appeal is that the maternity hospital operations should be intensified. We are not paying those people to help bring Black babies to this world but to eliminate them on the very delivery moment. If this department worked very efficiently, a great deal could be achieved. My Government has set aside a special fund for erecting more covert hospitals and clinics to promote this programme. Money can do anything for you. So while we have it, we should make the best use of it. In the meantime my beloved White citizens, do not take to heart what the world says, and don't be ashamed of being called racists. I do not mind being called the architect and King of Apartheid. I shall not become a monkey simply because someone has called me a monkey. I will still remain your bright star...His Excellency Botha. "
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