IS RAMPHELE DOING THE RIGHT THING?

South Africa as a country is coming from very afar. Our internationally acclaimed constitution guarantees freedom of political association and all sorts of freedoms that come and go with that.

Dr. Ramphele who has always been taken by many South Africans as the quiet member of the Democratic Alliance and has been known for her controversial statements. If I can recall very well Mamphele had always shown that she is against the ruling party ethics (ANC). “The ANC…represents the most blatant example of how the governing party has abused the state to benefit its loyalists and to sustain itself in power.” The above quote just makes obvious even to the blind that Ramphele has always differed with the ANC on every stand. But to the extent of forming a new party?

Throughout the media it has been evident that the Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille had secretly offered Agang SAfounder Mamphela Ramphele the leadership of her party in long-running negotiations last year. However, the plan collapsed after Ramphele demanded the DA "dissolve" and join her initiative instead. For me this is very confusing if Mamphele is really interested in the growth of this country or she wants to be the power head. She would argue perhaps that the policies or something of the DA are not inline with hers. But even in that regard it does not make sense to me because she formed part of the DA in terms of structuring the policies.

Dr Ramphele has always been a strong political character, but the BIG questions is: is her new political party going to survive in the South African political landscape. Isn’t this just another COPE coming up. Let’s just watch and see!

MOVIE: UNTHINKABLE (2010)

“What I have to do…is (pause for quite a long time) unthinkable,” by the time Henry (Samuel L Jackson) spills this out a lot has been done to dig out the truth from Yusuf/Younger (Michael Sheen). In the very beginning of this movie we see Younger preparing his video in which he intents it to be seen by the United States president. The only truth that is wanted from him is about the nuclear bombs, quite a number of them, which he connected in different American cities because he had demands that he wanted the American government to meet within three days or else…BOOM! He expressed his demands clearly in the video to the president.

The movie is directed by the famous Gregor Jordan who has been quite long around the industry, he also written and directed many movies like “Two Hands” which is an Australian Crime Film. It collected the Australian Institute Award for Best Film in 1999.

The multi-award winning Samuel L Jackson in “Unthinkable” is used as a character that frequently play hard-hitting scenes, rebellious ones. Hear him (to his colleagues who did not appreciate some of the things he committed) when he does something really bad but for the benefit of the state, “you wanna know where the bombs are or not, it’s my responsibility…this is not about you, this is war, this is sacrifice!,” then after doing the thing that made many raised eyebrows and screamed he angrily shouted “there is no time,” as the day of explosion of the bombs was approaching.

Bad things as Jackson is mostly known for in his characters are not really rare in this movie, but at this time around for the good of the whole United States, so the things did not go according to my thoughts and expectations about Jackson in this point.

CIA investigation specialist in this terrorism act happens to be Henry who promoted torturing the terrorist in every possible way that will make him speak the truth. In the process of torturing the terrorist and the truth is nowhere close from coming out, H really does a very bad thing that no man could stand, but did Yusuf spill the beans?

Some of the top officials has a belief that Yusuf might be lying about the bombs, saying that those bombs would be only shells. Agent Brody (Carric-Anne Moss) goes straight to him asking him to only give them a proof if the bombs are real, and Younger gave them the first location and it came to their attention if the bombs were real or not.

Agent Brody always tried to stop H from his tactics of seeking truth from Yusuf and always said “this is illegal, I will not allow this to happen!” She always suggests that talking with terrorist was much better than torturing him. Things just suddenly got out of hand after the bad act I introduced you to committed by H, that is where agent Brody just said H must do what he has to do, there was no other response other than “what I have to do…is unthinkable.” The really fascinating part is the “Unthinkable” H kept on talking about.

This terrorism movie works because it keeps suspense right up until the end. There are those scenes that will make you close your eyes and hold your hands up straight to your chicks. Does H end up doing the “Unthinkable”?

NATIONALISATION AND VARSITY STUDENTS

The ANCYL leader Julius Malema has been a defending mouth for nationalization of mines in South Africa in the past few months. Even today he still stands the grounds, though this will not benefit the poorest of the poor. Mr. Malema has been trying his best to convince people to defend nationalization, he even call those who oppose names.

MALEMA IN UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG (UJ)

To prove that “Juju” really wants nationalization to take place, he even visits students who according to him are the “future” of this country. Malema is known as a man of controversies and name calling, that’s exactly what he did in Soweto Campus, "Since the debate on nationalization, every rich family has spoken in defense of their property... all of them; they are in Stellenbosch, the Stellenbosch mafia."

That was just trying to show you that where there is Malema there is controversy, how can you call people” mafias” without having an evidence. In case someone don’t get the exact meaning of the word mafia, as it happened to me till I contacted my dictionary: Any similar group using extortion and other criminal methods. Are people living in Stellenbosch criminals? You be the judge.

What haunts me most is that, Malema is trying to insert young minds into his works, but I think varsity students are wise enough to be changed by Julius.

WHO TO BELIEVE BETWEEN MALEMA AND ECONOMISTS?

As far as I’m concerned or the last time I checked economists were not just people who studied wood work or something. I, as for one couldn’t do economics, not that I did not like it but it was difficult for me so I fully respect those chaps who studied economics and became economists. But now Mr. Malema is coming here and telling students that they must not believe economists as they “feed people with lies”. According to as far as I know economists only try to keep the economy of the country balanced, now I don’t know the point of the “lies” come from. Those gentlemen are able to predict what would happen to the economy of the country after twenty years. Does Malema know that or he does not even care? If he does know, definitely he does not care because economists have proved that this country would be in sour recession after twenty years.

WHO EXACTLY WOULD BENEFIT?

Not all of us as students we come from wealthy or rich backgrounds, I fall under those who struggle to pay even university charges. My worry is that: would the poor people benefit from the governmentally owned mines?  Not at all because there are many things that the government has been owning but people complain now and again about the government that doesn’t deliver, the “corrupt government”, what will now make the difference with mine nationalization?

AREN’T WE FIRING THE INVESTORS?

ZIMBABWE! Malawi! Kenya! Tanzania! Mozambique! Nigeria! The nationalized trains in Nigeria are running at a maximum speed of 35km per hour. The investors haven't returned after 40 years of nationalization.

Students, let us stand up and let our voices be heard before we lose our lovely country!

BE YOUR BIGGEST FAN!

Who do you expect to put the trust on you while you doubt yourself? Some people just disgust me for the fact that they hardly stand their own grounds. You know, even if I can see that something is of heavy burden for me to carry-but with telling myself that I’m Mkhokheli, who or what could stop me from climbing the ladder? There’s absolutely no one among these folks!

Just for once in your life time remove the thought which always enlightens your negativities. Yes, I know I’m coming from a disadvantaged school, so what?? Affirmative, I know I’m lacking the rolling tongue when speaking English, so what?? You can be fluent when you speak English, but if what you’re saying does not make sense, put your trust on me, even in 100 years to come, sense is something that it would go a long way to make. Not that I’m being jealous or what so ever against people who just speak English fluently, but I’m just trying to brighten the lights.

Let us not move miles away from what moved me to blog about the topic-“be your biggest fan”. In whatever you are doing or saying, stand tall and say “I’m so and so (your name) nobody can do it better than I”. If you say that elevened-word simple sentence in your everyday life, believe me you will consider some positive changes to your self-esteem.

Stand up from that dark unproductive corner, raise your voice and be heard. Did I tell you that God created you for a special purpose? Sure, he did!

MUSIC IS THE KEY COMMUNICATOR

                                                             

I am going to share with you the best and powerful cultural expression mainly to communicate in mass mobilization. I am talking about nothing else but music. What exactly is music? Music is a form of communication that can represent human emotions, personal style, geographic origins, spiritual foundations, social conditions, and other aspects of humanity. Music is the best way to express your views and to communicate in the contemporary society, as you may agree with me as my reader, if you do not agree keep on reading, you will end up agreeing. “Music is a universal language that transcends boundaries and bond people even thousands of miles apart” (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-24-2005-64674.asp).

For my own opinion, I say music is the voice for the voiceless, in a way that some artists sing about the things that are experienced in the informal settlements (shacks), for an example.   What I have just said is also agreed by Hans Christian Anderson (was a Danish author and poet) where he says “Where words fail, music speaks”. You find in some situations that government has a blind eye, or turns to be defiant in some bad conditions in shacks but through music the government end up attending to the particular condition. For an example there are songs like ‘village ghetto land’, performed by Stevie Wonder (singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, activist. He is from Detroit, Michigan, United States), from the album ‘songs in the key of life’, it is about struggles and dangers of living in the ghetto. Only if I can quote some few words from the song “children play with rusted cars, sores cover their hands, politicians laugh and drink, drunk to all demands”. See what I mean?

As I have tried to state in my introduction paragraph that there are some other ways of cultural expression other than music, like sport, religion and others. The fact remains is that they all come after music, we just cannot cope without music. Even in sport occasions music is there, new songs are invented. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup for an example, an official song was composed by an American artist Shakira; the name of the song was ‘waka waka’, which means do it. This made many different cultures to unite and be happy as one. Though many people did not know the meaning of the song but they liked it very much because of the way it showed African Ubuntu to the face of the world because music is a direct reflection of the picture of a particular society. Music is indeed the key in communication and plays a big role in uniting various cultures as one.

Music is not just music but a life saver at some points, I read many stories about people who were alone ready to commit suicide, but listened to a certain song that got them through the pain they were feeling. To prove music is the powerful medium of communication, it used everywhere, from parliament to manifestoes with the aim of catching votes, from a national team to the world with the aim of lifting spirits.

Music has more than any other art, the infinite capacity to express to thousands of listeners, in thousand of different accents, in an animate but irresponsible manner, what will be otherwise be incommunicable.

IS IT A "RAINBOW NATION" OR A "RAINBOW NOTION"

This was my media studies assignment, I saw that it would be very wise to blog about it.
In this piece of paper I will be trying my very best to dissect the term “Rainbow Nation” (term coined by the then Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu to describe post-apartheid South Africa). I may literally say this term is a metaphor as it compares a nation (people) to a rainbow. Why did they choose to say it is a “Rainbow Nation”? That type of question may rise. If you can close your eyes and have an imagination of a drizzling summer day with a cool sun, there appears a peaceful calm six-light-colored rainbow. Children playing and loitering, jumping around because of enjoying the type of weather. I believe that when South Africa was said to be a “Rainbow Nation”, honorable Dr Tutu referred to the joy and piece that the term would bring. Did the term bring peace? Keep on reading.
I believe, and I know that the notion behind the term was to eradicate the prejudice between the different races in South Africa. As everybody knows that the Republic of South Africa is accommodating different races, from Black, Colored, White, up to Indian race. This term coined by Dr Tutu also had a notion of accepting and fairly accommodating different beliefs, religion, cultures and each and every individual considered as free. Hear this piece correctly, ‘where each and every individual is considered as free and is respected for his/her own views’
I for one, have faith in Martin Luther King Junior’s words, where he says “an individual must not be judged by the color of the skin, but by the content of the character”, by those words he really clears the air. According to the ideology of ‘rainbow nation’, South Africa is supposed to be abiding by the words I quoted from Martin. Is it doing so?
There are people who are seeing this “Rainbow nation” as “Rainbow notion”, because of not following its intended policies. There is the reason for them to see this ideology as the notion, what may the reason be? Let us try and see if we can reveal the reason of seeing this ideology as the notion.
In the Republic of South Africa we have many sub-fields like Sport, Music industry, journalism industry, educational institutions, politics and others. According to the idea of the rainbow nation, all these above mentioned sub-fields are supposed to be accommodating every existing (qualifying for the particular field) race in this country regardless of the colour of the skin.
If we can put our eyes on sport a little bit and see if it represents itself as one of a rainbow nation, but we are not going to dwell much on sport as our way is heading to politics. We cannot run away from the fact that South African rugby is dominated by White people, I do not know if other races are not interested or their chances are very limited. Even those few individuals who are of different races playing rugby are uncomfortable there, as they are racially abused. “…star Jongi Nokwe, who scored a record-breaking four tries, had been racially abused by a group of fans every time he scored” (http://www.iol.co.za/sport/boks-blast-rugby-racists-1.425742).
According to my own perspective, I personally do not see South African rugby as one of a “Rainbow Nation”. As I was reading The Herald of the 26th of April 2011, on page 10 I came across a column written by Kazeka Mashologu kuse. She was trying to raise the issue that at NMMU the African languages were left behind, the only languages that are looked is English and Afrikaans, and I quote, “as an NMMU graduate, I have attended numerous lectures where the lecturer would explain an English concept in Afrikaans to an Afrikaans student who lacked the understanding in English. Why should the African student from N[g]qamakhwe [Transkei] not be afforded the same opportunity?”
This piece of paper is demanding to show that even in our educational institutions we are not the real “Rainbow Nation”, rainbow notion rather. Let us now twist our eyes to what arguably determines one’s daily life-Politics of the Republic of South Africa. How in a so-called peaceful nation could you justify the song “shoot the boer”, from someone who is considered to be a leader? Julius Malema (ANC Youth League leader) has repeatedly sung the “shoot the boer” song whereas he was told to stopover on it, as it was racial and taken as hate speech.
On the previous paragraph a word that is against the “Rainbow Nation” and the South African constitution as well rose-Hate speech. Yours truly, think that South African is not representing the “rainbow Nation” ideology as it is expected. Taking Jimmy Manyi’s (Government Spokesman) saying (“coloured people are of oversupply in the Western Cape…”) about coloured people, how in a rainbow nation could a leader suggest that a certain race of people must be kicked out of a certain place in their own country? “Could it be that Nelson Mandela, despite being critically acclaimed, did us a great disservice by claiming that we were a Rainbow Nation and pushing a false reconciliation which was no reconciliation at all?” (http://www.feintandmargin.com/there-is-no-rainbow-in-south-africa/)
There are just no ways where we can claim that South African is a rainbow nation, look at Malema again where he insults Helen Zille (Democratic Alliance leader), saying that she “suffers from Satanism!” How is that condoned in a so-called rainbow nation? Some of the politicians who are leading us today want to see this country as ‘sunbeam nation’. That would take a lot to happen, it would not be easy at all. South African politicians of today just forget that the freedom of this country came through the blood of some heroes. But now the ones left are doing their dirty things on it. If these little spoilt brats could be kicked out of leading positions by their political parties, believe me we can unite, and be together as one.
The late Lucky Dube (South African reggae musician) saw it long ago that our politicians will mislead us and try to separate the lovely different races, as he said in his song named ‘different colours, one people’, “hey you government never try to separate the people [,] hey you politicians never try to separate the people”.

BLOGGING ABOUT NOT KNOWING WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT!

Yes, it is one of those days. I admit that part of the reason for this post is because I don’t know what to blog about, hence the need to blog about my lack of ideas for blogging (it’s natural don’t raise your eyebrows). And other reason is I’m feeling dodgy and want to see how confused I can make you feel by repeatedly talking how I’m blogging about ‘not knowing what to blog about’.

It could be kind of confusing in the first paragraph, as I was before I didn’t know of what to blog about. Before my fingers started loitering on this grey black-buttoned keyboard I tremendously wondered of what I’m going to blog about. I thought of many things that would be considered as new(s), from the so-called-death of Osama Bin Laden to the protests held by Port Elizabeth townships against their so-called unfairly elected councillor candidates.

But my mind barely resisted of taking any of the above mentioned, it rather chose me to express the feeling of running out of the ideas. Is it because I’m from the recess, so I haven’t found my mind yet? Not at all, I only thought of getting out of the seriousness for a moment.

A bit of laughter at some instances is needed. As an expression goes “anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous…”

Believe me, you are not fully dressed until you wear a smile towards my post, yes smile until you smile and smile and always smile.

See how smart it is to write about not knowing what to write about! Keep smiling!