McCain can...NOT!

I'm not really a republican fan, so this one was very funny...[you have to have watched the Barack Obama one first].



McCain clearly is not striking [excuse the pun] a cord with everyone in the US of A!

COLLECTIONS OF THINGS TO LOVE IN SA

I have to admit I seem to have become a bit of a political analyst! One subject I love besides family and business is politics! So I have re-read [is there such a word?] a few of my recent posts and I thought it would be cool to make a list of what I love about my country. So here goes:

CANDICE & friends COLLECTION OF SA LOVES… [in no order]

The PEOPLE [nowhere in the world have I met people like the S Africans].
The WEATHER [including the late afternoon summer storms]
The FOOD [BRAAIS, BILTONG, WILSONS TOFFEE’S & CHAPPIES]
The SMILES
Our FLAG
Our vast PRECIOUS METALS
The WINE & BEER
Our HUMOUR
The VUVUZELA
Our OPTIMISM [ok, ok, maybe not at the moment but generally]
Our CULTURES and COLOURS [Ndebele colours and patterns]
Our TRADITIONAL DANCE
Our EDUCATION
The fact that we have 11 different LANGUAGES [ok official ones]
The fact you can buy almost anything whilst sitting at a robot
The OPEN SPACES
The ANIMALS
The OCEAN
Our MUSIC
Our SERVICE [not great but fab compared to many places overseas]
The current RUGBY WORLD CHAMPIONS [ama bokka bokka]
The ARTS and CRAFTS
The FLORA and FAUNA
TABLE MOUNTAIN
JOZI Sky line
HUMAN RIGHTS & FREEDOM DAY
Many PUBLIC HOLLIES
The best BEACHES

Last but not least ……WE HAVE MADIBA!

FEEL FREE TO ADD TO THE LIST!!

The 'White Tribe' of SA

Ok..here I go again...
The Black Journalist's Forum has just attempted to justify why white journalists are not invited to the 'open discussion' today with the 100% Zulu- Mr 'JZ.
Sorry dudes, whatever you say to justify, in my books is just not justifiable...How can the exclusion of any segment of the population be justified anymore? There are now less than 4 million whites in this country out of around 48 million, is this the start of kak things to come? Where is democracy?
On 702 I just heard some dude [journo] say the reason whites were excluded was because they were not to be trusted with information that was discussed in a closed forum?

Two things here….. should this be a closed forum in light of the current problem with the lack of communication in the country? Do the people of the country not have the right to know what is happening behind closed doors when their futures' could potentially be impacted by the discussion? Is it not the media's job to do ensure this happens!? Enough is enough with the cloak and dagger.

Secondly, why would there be a mistrust of whites to hold information? Is that not in itself racist and generalist?
Has the dream of building at rainbow [nation] begun to crumble? Leaders advertising tribal preferences and intolerance seems to be on the rise. Sadly it seems that some are happy with the ‘white tribe’ being at the bottom of the pile when it comes to discussions/participating in anything to do with the future. I thought we were on the way to more tolerance and healing…? I will never deny that the past was a horrendous thing for black South Africans. As a white person, I sadly cannot change the past, but I know I can be part of building a better future. People that justify this kind of split are really just perpetuating the past all over again. When are we really going to move on? Maybe JZ will boycott the event [I am an optimist actually!]?? Lets wait and see...

Barack for President

I have mentioned in previous posts that Barak Obama could teach our Government a thing or 2 about inspirational leadership. The best SA can do at the moment is Zuma and his 'inspirational' song about violent machinery and sadly some call that inspiration [because of its history]. A reminder... we are now in the present, not the past and we need to find a different song that brings us all together to build a better SA for all....

Check out this video as an example [made in support of Barack Obama]. It seems to be made for SA!



PS: I am now an offical Barack fan...sorry Hillary

Living in the NEW NEW SA

I admit I have been scarce...lackluster is the word I would use to describe my mood. I am ashamed to say that I have been caught up in the constant bad news that seems to have become South Africa [over the past few months] - it seems to be everywhere you turn.
I am not going to reiterate what you all already know, but have finally realized that my mood was not going to help things. So I am back, albeit in pause mode for a while, waiting to see if any leadership emerges for the institution we call government.

Revolutions can be started by a handful of people [we have a history of that in this country] but there is something in the South African psyche [not only white South Africans] that tends to jump instantly to running away [to another country]. This at a time when we all need to stay and make a difference – the crime is a large factor in those decisions and I understand that fear [especially as a mother]. With the latest highlight of infrastructure decay a few just do not see hope, but rather decline.

A new thing has entered my mind this year with the emergence of Zuma and his 100% Zulu boy T-Shirt. [Something like that from a ‘leader’ encourages polarization not tolerance]. The question for me arose…where does this leave the white South African voice? An example of this is a sudden defensiveness I have picked up with any comments lodged by whites regarding Governmental inefficiencies. Are we racist, and the same comments made by a black person are realist? I am a little over that view. The government is simply not delivering and they need to bring the country back on track in a hurry, to deliver on the very basic fundamentals of our constitution.

I had begun to allow myself [my own fault] to think that as a white South African I had begun to lose my voice… [shock horror I know]. Then, I remembered choice and democracy and *‘that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our Diversity’.. I am African. I do not have or want a ‘get out of jail free card’ [in the form of a foreign passport]. This is my country, and I am white. We as a people talk of integration and tolerance and in the end we are all in this together. We ALL need to do what we can to fix the country and avoid the issues that face Kenya. The fundamental starting point however is to be heard as a united voice as the people of this country, all singing the same tune.
God forbid that I ever have to leave the land of my birth. I dread the day that I would have to consider that [which I would do if the risk for my family got to great].

So a prediction…this year and possibly the next 5 to follow will be a watershed for SA. People will come and go and we are in for a bumpy road, but we must do our best to work together and *‘Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights; Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law; Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and build a united and democratic South Africa’.

PEACE to the PEOPLE!

*Quoted from the South African Constitution