“Speaking at a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the fourth president of the ANC, Josiah Tshangana Gumede, who led the party from 1924 to 1930, Zuma said the singing of such songs in a democratic dispensation was “tantamount to making peace with a so-called enemy while waving a weapon”.

This was after a struggle song, the lyrics of which, when loosely translated, are “We as the soldiers of Umkhonto we Sizwe are prepared to kill these Boers” was yesterday sung at Gumede’s graveside, at Mountain Rise Cemetery, in Pietermaritzburg, with new lyrics.

The new line is “We as the soldiers of Umkhonto we Sizwe are prepared to reconcile with these Boers”.”

Zuma said yesterday: “The debate on the songs with inflammatory lyrics is important. When we’re moulding our country we need to say we unite all South Africans, even those we fought against [during the struggle].

“There’s no need for certain people to feel unwelcome in their country. We need to include everyone in our country because the ANC will rule the country until those that are dead rise back to life.”

Freedom Front Plus spokesman Corné Mulder welcomed Zuma’s remarks. “I fully agree with President Zuma when he says the apartheid lyrics should be reviewed.”

Link: http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/04/20/whites-not-the-enemy

So lets talk about class baby.

Enough about race, let’s talk about class

Sandile Memela writes:

“If truth be told, black people are not interested in the confessions of white people who suffer with guilt from the sins of colonialism and apartheid. In the 21st century where both colonialism and apartheid have – depending on how you look at things – been defeated, we don’t want to know of people who indulge in self-flagellation. In fact, we should be disappointed that there are some whites who think they please blacks by making the issue of race an obsession in a non-racial society.

If white people want to remain relevant to genuine transformation and change in this country, we want to hear or see them talk about the issue of class oppression and exploitation. It is only when they address the issue of class and power more than the matter of race that they can make significant changes to the economic structures in our society. For far too long, whites have expected blacks to embrace them and treat them as heroes for simply being so-called anti-apartheid or guilt-ridden. But we now demand that whites (and blacks) raise the issue of class contradiction in our society, especially those inherent within the capitalist condition. Perhaps blacks know that when white comrades and intellectuals raise the issue of class, we will sooner see how blacks have betrayed themselves.”

The idea is to aggressively manage glycemic index content in the diet by cutting back on sugars and starch. A relevant scientific study can be found here Low-Carb Diet Reduces Inflammation And Blood Saturated Fat In Metabolic Syndrome.

I have come up with my own diet, based on this principle, dumbed it down to two sets of 5 pointers to do and to avoid.

Do’s:

1. Nuts and seeds: for example almonds and pumpkin seeds (avoid high carbs like peanuts and cashews however)
2. Leafy green vegetables (spinach, avos, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, asparagus). Even frozen vegetables bought in supermarket is better than no vegetables at all.
3. Cheese and plain yoghurt
4. Fish + chicken
5. Plenty of water

Avoid:

1. Sugar. Chocolates, puddings and sweet drinks like Coke
2. Starch. Breads, toast, pastries and cake
3. Potatoes, chips and other high starch “root” vegetables
4. Pap, most breakfast cereals
5. Fried foods and anything in crumbing for example KFC

The weekly 500g steak and vegetables together with a couple of low-alcohol beers remains a treat without fear of contradiction.

The following website contains valuable data on the carbohydrate content of various foods:

Carbohydrate Counting

Some handy numbers to help count the carbohydrate intake (per 100g/ml) as displayed on food labelling:

1. beer = 3.5g, i.e. around 16g in a draft.

2. teaspoon of sugar = 4g, i.e. around 2g in a cup of coffee if you take half a spoon of sugar.

The challenge for a low carb diet  is to try and limit the total  carbohydrate intake below 20g a day. with a maximum intake of 60g.

The good news in there is if you love beer like I do, you can still comfortably have three(3) drafts a day and claim you are on the low carb diet IF you manage to limit all other carb intake to below 12g during the day.

“But Zuma’s government isn’t happy and academic de Vos says that hovering in the background is the personal interest of Zuma and that this should never be underestimated.  Zuma has advocated for an amendment to the constitution to remove the power of the constitutional court to review government policies and actions.

De Vos says this would gravely undermine the rights guaranteed in the founding law and change South Africa’s system of democracy to one of parliamentary supremacy.

“All these things that make a democracy work properly [are] then at the behest of the majority party in parliament, who can infringe and take away any of these rights that will -make it,- diminish the democracy at best, and at worst will completely hollow out the democracy,” De Vos said.

De Vos says constitutional supremacy is one of the founding principles which can only be changed by a 75 percent majority in the national assembly.  At present the dominant ANC currently has a majority of 65.9 percent.  Observers such as Mckaiser say that in the foreseeable future it is unlikely the ANC will attain sufficient voter support to reach even 70 percent.”

 Link: The Voice of America

About VOA

The Voice of America (VOA), a dynamic multimedia broadcaster funded by the U.S. Government, broadcasts accurate, balanced, and comprehensive news and information to an international audience.

It started in 1942 as a radio news service for people living in closed and war-torn societies. It has grown into a multimedia broadcast service. VOA now reaches people on mobile devices and Facebook, through Twitter feeds and call-in programs - using the medium that works best for specific audiences.

VOA’s work in all languages and platforms is governed by the VOA Charter, signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1976.

The Charter states, in part, that “VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.” That is why we feature those words on the VOANews.com banner. The Charter also states that “VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinions on these policies.”

Link: Inside the Voice of America (besides Apartheid Era Constitutional Experts)

1. Gurthrö Steenkamp (Toulouse)

2. Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks)

3. Werner Kruger (Bulls)

4. Eben Etsebeth (Stormers)

5. Andries Bekker (Stormers)

6. Schalk Burger(c) (Stormers)

7. Willem Alberts (Sharks)

8. Ashley Johnson (Cheetahs)

9. Francois Hougaard (Bulls)

10. Johan Goosen (Cheetahs)

11. Gio Aplon (Stormers)

12. Francois Steyn (Sharks)

13. Jaques Fourie (Kobelco Steelers)

14. JP Pietersen (Sharks)

15. Patrick Lambie (Sharks)

Bench:

16. Coenie Oosthuizen (Cheetahs)

17. Chiliboy Ralepelle (Bulls)

18. Juandré Kruger (Bulls)

19. Dewald Potgieter (Bulls)

20. Duane Vermeulen (Stormers)

21. Ruan Pienaar (Ulster)

22. Juan De Jongh (Stormers)

Four new caps in the starting 15 and three new caps on the bench.

Neville Alexander (Educationalist): “No South African should have to classify him or herself as ‘white’, ‘black’, ‘green’ or anything else as far as I’m concerned. We’re not going to perpetuate racial identities. They have divided our people, they have undermined our unity, and we need to put a stop to this. You are establishing the template, the grid for a genocidal future.”

Neville: “There’s a legislative basis for what the university is doing. It’s not illegal, but I think it’s immoral.”

I have to agree with that.

Link: http://beta.mnet.co.za/carteblanche/Article.aspx?Id=4514&ShowId=1

“We declare solemnly and confidently that the foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet group in South Korea, should not expect any change from us,” it said.

Link: North Korea tells world to ‘expect no change’

So as we have seen so many times with the Western narrative of the one bad guy like Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Robert Mugabe, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim Jong-il, etc. causing all the trouble in the world, the dumbed down Hollywood version of political realities and world events as peddled in the popular media and sold to the gullible masses is fundamentally misleading if not deeply flawed.

Link: ‘Unprecedented’ ozone hole opens over Canadian Arctic