Paul Janisch

Seven friendly years

Most parents would probably look back at their lives since their children entered into them and observe how quickly they've grown up and how fast the time is gone. I am just like most parents. This has been another big year for Oliver. He's grown immensely in the past 12 months, physically, emotionally and intellectually. Watching him at the school sports' day was an indication of how much he'd grown. Last year he was still finding his feet, this year he contributed a significant number of points to his house's ultimate score on that day. We have the swimming day coming up soon and I expect his contribution will also be significant.

I don't know how and why children are able to manage audio visual devices so much better than their parents. Oliver can drive a play station better than anyone in the house – and he doesn't need a remote!!! The introduction of Netflix in our house (at the expense of DSTV which I think is a rip-off anyway, but it does mean I have to go and leach at friends when a game is on) brings new un-watchable TV shows, all of which Oliver is an expert on. Who on earth would have dreamed up such a gross show like Slugterra? And did those people know that Oliver would be the residential (not household, RESIDENTIAL) expert who willingly involves us in competitive discussions about what our favourite slug is. Something like – do you prefer Ramstone or Frostcrawler? Or – if Grenuke or Lavalink both had black belts who would eat their dinner faster? We had this last year with Star Wars, which seems to have fallen a bit out of favour and could be regarded as blaine.

The term "blaine" needs some explaining. Last year he told us that something was completely blaine. Kath and I fell over, he was developing his own slang! He has since distanced himself from the term, claiming that it was in fact LAME. We prefer blaine.

And now there is soccer.

His ambition is to be a goalie. In order to be a goalie you have to play soccer. And play soccer he does, with great vigour and enthusiasm, to the extent that he has been known to decline going to a party because it clashes with soccer practice. We all delight in watching him play.

Another year Oliver and what a fantastic child you are. We love your imagination, your ability to entertain yourself for hours on your trampoline, for loving your home and your family. We love your love for your friends and school and your passionate nature. I don't love your interest in Dirt Karringmelk's "Loslappie". But this is what happens to poor parents like me – my children will enjoy music that I will not be able to tolerate. We love how sensitive you are, how you're willing to listen to Loslappie at warp volume to drown out the thunder and lightning. I love it when you sing the bridge of Peter Green's "Oh well", and I love riding with you on Sunday mornings and watching you talking to your body as you force it and your incredibly heavy bicycle up a hill.

Happy 7^th year. Thank you for the last 6. Thank you for listening to a scratchy version of Enid Blyton's Famous Five on our record player. And thank you for being you and most importantly thank you for being ours.

Here we again. I was not aware that Denny Laine's birthday was on the 29^th of October as well. I'll post an extra song this year because Denny Laine is not blaine. There is a lot of solo Denny Laine stuff that isn't on iTunes and it should be, he was overshadowed by Paul McCartney but when let loose on his solo albums he produced some very good stuff.

02- Destiny Unknown

Peter Green – still my favourite. "Need your love so bad" was a cover. First done by Little Willie John, Green apparently heard the BB King version and then covered it. This is a long track but listen to how chatty he is between takes. That's definitely him and his legendary Les Paul playing in the middle position (that's one for the guitarists).

09 - Fleetwood Mac - Need Your Love So Bad [Version #1] [Tak

And finally Ollie Halsall. There's a very vibrant Facebook page dedicated to Ollie for those who would like to know more about this incredible musician. Here's General Custer off the Monkey's Bum album – it's a biographical tale of when Patto went on tour with Joe Cocker (General Custer). Mike Patto could certainly write a hit when he wanted to – and this should have been a hit.

Patto - General Custer

 

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Celebrity birthdays for the week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1

Racism insurance

Something jungle jim could certainly use.  I wonder if they have insurance for black people.

 

Zuma appoints new BEE council. Really?

Zuma has appointed new members for the presidential black economic empowerment council, his office said on Thursday.

They are:

- Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies; (communist - liabilitiy)

- Susan Shabangu, Minister of Women in the presidency; (useless mining minister - liability)

- Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant; (look at the state of employee legislation - draconian. All under her watch.  Liability)

- Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi; (Zuma man - liability)

- Zingiswa Losi, the second deputy president of the Congress of SA Trade Unions; (trade unionist - massive liability)

- Tantaswa Fubu, president of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of SA; (less of a liability)

- Puleng Tsebe, deputy chairman of Disabled People SA; (don't know this person, my guess is liability)

- Sandile Zungu, vice-president of the Black Business Council; (professional black, has run a business, but exists because of Zuma and it does not appear that business respects him - massive liability)

- Clive Manci, member of the Board of Business Unity SA; (seems to be a bona fide businessman - I approve)

- Eltie Links, chairman of Doing Business in Africa at the Stellenbosch Graduate School of Business; (president of the AHI, OK)

- Chantyl Mulder, senior executive for professional development and transformation at the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants; (Very nice person, but knows as much about running a business as Rob Davies.  Liability)

- Lefadi Makibinyane, chief executive of the Council for Consulting Engineers SA; (OK - not bad)

- Thami Mazwai, executive chairman of Mtiya Dynamics; (Bitter man - chip exists,  ANC patsy, MASSIVE LIABILITY)

- Yershen Pillay, chairman of the National Youth Development Agency; (probably a liability)

- Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, former housing minister and Central Energy Fund chairwoman; (Zuma person - liability)

- Mike Mlengana, president of the African Farmers Association of SA; (why him, why? Liability)

- Zinhle Cele, deputy secretary general of the Progressive Professionals Forum; (Let's be clear about this.  This is jungle jim's baby.  It's an ANC organ and a liability)

- Koko Khumalo, deputy president of the Black Management Forum and; (The BMF is getting its act together.  I don't expect this person to be the voice of reason amongst this crowd of Zuma cronies.  Will ultimately amount to nothing)

- Caroline Magadla, treasurer general of the SA National Apex Cooperative. (Can't find anything on her.  She's spared my analysis)

via www.iol.co.za

We need to see this in context.  The Amended BEE Act (which apprently will come into effect this month)  states that these people will be PAID for doing this - so much for Nene reducing government expenditure.  Zuma has filled it with mostly black people (other than Chantyl), many of whom are his cronies, buddies, mates, backers etc.   The timing is almost perfect. How are we ever going to take them seriously. Thank god Ellen has her hands full with the Zuma-approved tactic of delaying the inevitable, and is no longer on the council (although she might need the money).

But my question is very simply, if BEE is now a white problem, which the new codes go to great lengths to stress, then why do we not have white business people sitting on this council.  You've got a bunch of people pronouncing on BEE and its implementation and they are exempted from dealing with the challenges in getting Rob's codes off the ground. 

This is like having a bunch of plumbers deciding how dentists should behave.

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Shabangu faces charges over leases

But most of all we have a president who neither understands basic economics nor seems to care about it.

All of which points to the one most obvious fact of all: Zuma has become an unaffordable national liability. He must go.

via www.bdlive.co.za

This is the quality of mind application within the DTI

Critics of the new regulations also argued that there was not enough time for public comments. They alleged that only 35 days had been given for public scrutiny as opposed to 60 days stipulated by the law.

Reacting to the concerns, Ms Mesatywa said: "The minister (Rob Davies) has a prerogative to apply his mind and consider extending the commentary period, if there is a compelling need."

via www.bdlive.co.za

Normally I'd start off with "Perhaps I am wrong". But I'm not wrong, Davies has a prerogative to follow the letter of the law - which requires 60 days. The application (of his absence) of his mind is a precondition for being in his position.

Simply put this is a DTI shrug off. What they really are saying is that they will do whatever they want to do and you will tolerate it. And they don't care what the legislation or constitution says.

Why you ask. Simple - because they think we'll do nothing about it.

The are very wrong.

SA has turned into a predatory state - Loane Sharp

IT IS every person’s civic and moral duty to ask himself whether the government that has power over him is just and fair. He may not have elected the government, and in a democracy it is proper to be resigned to the power that the majority’s bidding has over him. But sometimes the government is so impudent and shameful, so contrary to his sense of justice and fair play, that a man finds its power intolerable. The moral question arises of how he ought to behave. Should he acquiesce as a man resigned? Should he wage a silent struggle against its overweening power? Should he violently thrash against its unbearable dominion?

via www.bdlive.co.za

It is within the context of this paragraph that we need to remind the government that they cannot legislate arbitrarily. It's enough now. Money is coming for our court case - a sign that we've had enough.

DOOKOOM - Jou Poes my Larney

It's just loud gangster rap.  I don't think it's hate speech and I don't agree with music censorship at all (although I think we'd be doing the world a favour if we banned Steve Hofmeyer).  I do love Richard Poplak's writing in general.  He is particularly entertaining in this Daily Maverick post.

It's not the first song that I am aware of that speaks about farm workers moering their baases.  Check out Ou Kleine Jannie  by Mr Mac and the Genuines.  A fantastic song

 

 

 

Races cannot be classified, court hears

CLASSIFYING people in accordance with their race is "legally impossible", says trade union Solidarity in court papers challenging the constitutionality of an affirmative action policy.

The aim of the policy is to address the fact that the lucrative liquidation industry still remains largely a white, male enclave. But the implication of Solidarity’s argument is that all affirmative action policies would be unlawful — unless there is a system to determine how to categorise people in terms of race.

The argument is likely to raise eyebrows because the constitution specifically approves of "measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination" — including race-based measures, according to the Constitutional Court.

via www.bdlive.co.za

This is a very important case.  The two underlined sentences capture the nub of the issue.  Section 9(2) of the Constitution contains the second sentence. This is the section that the government uses as a blanket to cover all of its dodgy measures like the revised codes.  I think that what Solidarity is questioning is whether the Constitution allows for racial classification. I don't think it does, if you cannot break people down into race groups then you can't have any EAP.  

In heads, Solidarity’s counsel Greta Engelbrecht said that even the architects of the apartheid-era race classification system struggled to establish "with precision" the race of some people, adopting "ridiculous tests".

Ms Engelbrecht quoted University of Cape Town sociologist Deborah Posel at length, in describing some of the absurd methods used to classify people during apartheid days — including the infamous "pencil test", the "feel of an earlobe" and examining the "patch of skin on the inside of an arm".

"One official insisted he could tell a coloured with absolute certainty by the way he spits," quoted Ms Engelbrecht.

Though the hated Population Registration Act was repealed, Ms Engelbrecht argued the postapartheid government was still "seeking to arrange society" as four distinct races. "How in a postapartheid era we are to determine who is ‘African’, ‘coloured’, ‘white’ and ‘Indian’, is not explained," said Ms Engelbrecht.

I wrote about the apartheid racial classifications a few years ago.  It didn't work then and it won't work now.  

I do understand that we need to do something about the African majority, but the government is not going about it in any legal way.  And the worst thing is that we are sitting here and tolerating this flagrant violation of Constitutional rights.  Just like frogs in luke warm water that is heating up very quickly.

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PAJA attack on the codes

Section 9 of the BEE Act and the proposed QSE Codes (inter alia)

Once upon a time competent minister of trade and industry published the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act (53 of 2003). The incumbent then decided to amend it and added in a lot of unmonitorable rubbish and sent it off to the most competent of competent people, the Duke of Nkandla, for signature. The amendment lies gathering dust somewhere, but it did include the original section 9(5) which stated the following

The Minister must, before issuing, replacing or amending a code of good practice in terms of subsection (1)

1. Publish the draft code of good practice or amendment in the Gazette for public comment; and
2. Grant interested persons a period of at least 60 days to comment on the draft code of good practice or amendment as the case may be.

On Friday, Rob dumped the remaining statements and codes on us with this preamble

Maybe there is something that I missed here, but I see these as either new codes or amendments of existing codes. Rob has however given us just over 30 days to comment – that's round about half the period that the Act prescribes. 

Is there any point in asking him why he did this, the answer is no because we know that he has very little time to publish the final codes and needs to get moving here. I also think that he's made his mind up and that these statements are final. I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of the new statements, other than they read better than 36928. But if you want to read them you can download them here. 

Zuma needs to go!!!!!!!!

It is important that business and other powerful players as well as citizens from all walks of life find a way of acting together, not only to remove Zuma but also to set in place a system of clean governance in accordance with the requirements of constitutionalism and democratic rule.

While some or most of those who will support such moves and definitely benefit most come from the poorest communities, they share with the wealthy in the need for stability and restoring democratic rule.

In order to achieve this we need to do more than remove Zuma. The relationships through which he has enriched himself need to be uprooted so that others cannot benefit themselves at the expense of the wellbeing of the people.

via www.dailymaverick.co.za

Not to his happy home in Nkandla, but to court to face his many accusers. Please read this article, it is very apt.

His family needs to go down, the Guptas need their wings clipped and myriad other people that we don't even know about.

Only then will justice be done