A different view on current affairs & history
South African society is plagued by the wealth gap between black and white inherited from the old days. SMAC has nervously dipped his toe into these dangerous waters and reveals that “blacks are good, whites are bad” is just a useful trope for the ANC and it is actually their policies which have made it worse.
In 1970 my elder brother, Dean, was the first in the family to experience the ‘pleasure’ of being called-up to do 9 months compulsory military service at 1 SA Infantry Training Battalion in Oudtshoorn. This was a milestone for the family as he was the first to enter the adult world of hard knocks. Being four years younger and in Standard 8 (grade 10), I was in awe of what he reported in his letters what the Army was like. Little did I know that I would have to serve two years National Service of which a year was spent kakking off on office’s course, 3 months longer than his entire national service. In mid-year he was due for the much awaited 7-day pass and Dad decided to make it a family outing by driving up to fetch him.
This was a great event and another milestone for the family. Apart from the odd day trips to van Stadens Pass or Gamtoos River mouth, Dad never ventured out of the Port Elizabeth area except for a weekend at Louterwater 200km away in the Langkloof. I was preschool at the time and Dad worked there building fruit packing sheds for roughly six months c1962 and he decided to fetch us for a short holiday there. We bunked in the basic dusty site huts for the weekend with Mom having to cook on a primus stove! Way to go Dad. You sure knew how to show a gal a good time. It was an excited bunch that set off in the 1966 Vauxhall Victor early on a Saturday hoping to arrive at Oudtshoorn 360km away at around midday. The excitement soon ebbed as we made our way along the long and deary Langkloof (long valley). Being still kids, Cheryl and I had not yet come to appreciate the stark Karoo landscape. The boredom was
occasionally relieved by tucking into ham and egg fart sandwiches. Midday was approaching and Oudtshoorn was approaching as we hit the final leg about 10-15km away.
Thanksgiving Day is the day that America gives thanks to their God, Mammon, for the bounty they have received. And for this year, their god has dished up a massive bounty for the majority of Americans. We are talking about the people of God’s Own Party, the Republicans. They have been delivered control of the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court, all guided and ruled over by their Ayatollah, the Supreme Turkey embodied on earth by Trump. The Turkeys are running Thanksgiving and, for at least the next four years, will be running the farm and going feral.
Continue reading
Is the surprising Trump victory going to be like a James Bond martini where the world ends up being shaken but not stirred? Will the ‘Despicable Me 2’ Gru and his Minions lead the post-truth world across an event horizon into a black hole? For SMAC’s look at this conundrum, read on.
Continue reading
TRIGGER WARNING: The excessive and egregious use of outrageous puns might lead to vomiting, induced or involuntary particularly amongst bulimics.
The best thing that can be said about the US presidential election is that the farce is over and what a farce it proved to be. Between the dominating issues of Ukraine, the Middle East, the US Elections and that trusty old standby, the corrupt and incompetent ANC, SMAC has become about as much fun as treating piles. It’s time to put the p (not a typo) back into fun as we move from weighty world issues to weighty personal issues. It’s time to take a weight off our shoulders and lighten the mood as we look into the world of weight loss. For SMAC’s take on that 3-ring circus (Ozempic, Weygovy, Rybelsus) comprising the Ozempic Games, read on.
Continue reading
Well, the egregious grifter did it. He won the 2024 US Presidential election by a landslide. How he did it will have the pundits pondering and pointlessly pontificating for years. In fact, it’s likely to become a university course – you’ll be able to study Political Science majoring in Blowing Your Own Trumpet and the Art of the Steal amongst many other fawning indigestible courses. The question now is what is he going to do with his victory? We know that he likes to do things on a whim but we can be sure that his presidency will be anything but whimsical.
Continue reading
Having unexpectantly and unwanted achieved old age, dating is not a pursuit that features greatly in my life. I prefer more leisurely diversions such as the subject of this blog – dating the oldest photograph (not something that I ever thought I would aspire to). I am also an armchair historian of popular topics and do not submerge myself in the dusty bowels of archives. My tools are limited to my inquisitive mind and interpretive skills and reviewing easily accessible books not to mention leaning on my older brother, Dean, for backup as younger siblings tend to do.
[Disclaimer: I must make absolutely clear that it is with no sense of superiority do I dismiss some of the dates given by Redgrave, Lorimer and Harradine. It is rather a case that I stand on the shoulders of giants, particularly in the case of the latter. Also in the days that their books were written, they did not have sophisticated word processors and the ability to print drafts at their desks or perform computer searches.]
What triggered this blog was rereading my brother’s blog (ref 1) on the earliest photograph and photographers. In it he presents an early morning photograph looking over Market Square and down Main Street, probably referred to as High Street in those days, and he states that it is the oldest photograph (below) and taken in c1858.
Upfront I must make a disclaimer – personally I am slightly to the left of centre if such a thing as a linear left-right continuum adequately describes one’s worldview. In the US political system, I get where the Republicans (not the Maggots and their ilk) are coming from and understand where the Democrats are trying to get to and don’t want to really take sides in a country I’m not part of. So, this SMAC is not about politics, but just about one man – Trump.
Why should you or I care about it? Like it or not, America is the dominant force in the world and perhaps it should change to something more equitable. But what we don’t need is chaos in geopolitics and that’s just what Trump represents because Trump is not worried about what’s good or right for mankind, but what’s good for Trump. Unfortunately, it is also well known from his previous presidency that listening to briefings from his cabinet, particularly the all-important security briefings, are not his strong suit. In fact, the only briefings he listens to are those broadcast by Fox News – his personal vanity mirror.
This is SMAC’s look at the man as the critical US presidential election approaches. It’s time to be afraid, very afraid.
Continue reading
(For those who do not follow American politics closely, the symbol of the Republican party is the elephant)
The Addo Elephant National Park outside Port Elizabeth was established in 1931 and is home to 600 elephants, up from 11 when it started. A legendary beast amongst them was Hapoor, so named because he had a chunk missing from his ear caused by a hunter’s bullet. His name was an Afrikaans portmanteau of “hap” meaning a bite or a piece, and “oor” meaning ear. He was a large and assertive beast who dominated his herd from 1944 to 1968.
You can see where this analogy is going although I have to stretch a bit, I admit.
Continue reading