First Thing with Emma Payne
"I advise Muslim countries that support the terrorists with their petrodollars to stop.Tomorrow you will be targeted... Wash your hands of killing and the killing of Muslims.”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warns that support of Iraqi-Syrian rebel group ISIS will backfire.
Monday 23 June, 2014
While you were sleeping
Actions speak louder than words after a three-way, especially one involving Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande. In a Sunday chit chat,Russian President Putin tentatively voiced support for a cease-fire in Ukraine to French President Hollande and German Chancellor Merkel, but keeps 65,000 troops on combat alert. Putin wants it both ways (and Putin gets what Putin wants).
Bloomberg
First world crowd control is now available domestically. No, not the kind that raises wages and improves living conditions. The Skunk is something more immediate, reliable and high tech: a drone designed to fire on unruly crowds with high-pressure paintballs, pepper spray capsules and rubber bullets. South African manufacturer, Desert Wolf, has already sold 25 to an undisclosed client, to be used by an “international mining house.” At R500,000 a pop, orders are pouring in. Safety at any cost, unless it’s underground, of course.
International Business Times
At the World Cup, Portugal stole a 2-2 draw against the USA with a goal in the dying seconds of the game; Algeria smashed Korea Republic 4-2; and Belgium edged Russia 1-0 in a scrappy encounter.
ESPN
Any which way but horizontal: Post-modernism meets the funeral industry.Thinking “out of the box” in New Orleans and Puerto Rico has funeral directors experimenting with some truly unique strategies in fulfilling their clients’ final wishes. Funerals are just more fun when the “client” is posed as a paramedic behind his ambulance, or as Che Guevara (complete with cigar in hand).
New York TimesFinancial indicators:Oil=$106.83 Gold=$1316.60 Platinum=$1456.81
R/$=10.65 R/€=14.48 R/£=18.12 $/€=1.36
JSE All Share= 9659.00 (-3.44%) DOW= 16947.08 (+0.15%) FTSE= 6865.20 (+0.25%%)Sources: Bloomberg
Fact of the Day: Twenty years ago today, “rows of cheering diplomats welcomed South Africa back to the United Nations” as we regained a seat at the august international institution after 20 years of banishment.
Coming up today
Serving us lots of strawberries, cream, and grass (playing surfaces, that is)… it’s WIMBLEDON time! The world’s oldest—some insist most prestigious—tennis tournament begins today at the All England Club in London. Last year’s champ, home boy Andy Murray, takes centre court at 2PM South Africa time against Belgium’s David Groffin.
A verdict is expected today in the absurd, shambolic trial of three Al Jazeera journalists currently incarcerated in Egypt. The trio were arrested December 29 in Cairo for “aiding terrorists, doctoring footage and endangering Egypt's national security.” The defendants, their families, journalists the world over and certainly the people of Egypt, anxiously awaits a positive outcome for the future of freedom of speech.World Cup action:
Netherlands v Chile and Australia v Spain (6pm)
Cameroon v Brazil 10pm and Croatia v Mexico (10pm)
Weather:
Bloemfontein: min: -3°, max: 18°, sunny
Cape Town: min: 11°, max:19°, sunny with some clouds
Durban: min: 12°, max: 26° , sunny
East London: min: 11°, max: 26°, sunny
Johannesburg: min: 3°, max: 18°, sunny
Kimberley: min: 3°, max: 18° sunny
Nelspruit: min: 6°, max: 28°, sunny
Pietermaritzburg: min: 3°, max: 27°, sunny
Polokwane: min: 0°, max: 19°, sunny
Port Elizabeth: min: 9°, max: 25°, sunny
Pretoria: min: 5°, max: 20°, sunny
Source: AccuWeather
Now in Daily Maverick
| Op-Ed: We don’t need more nuclear power – just policy coherence |
It is hard to disagree with President’s Zuma’s call, in his State of the Nation address, for a radical transformation of the energy sector. One can’t deny that solving the energy issue is central to South Africa’s future economic growth. One could even find some encouragement in his statement that this “will require structural changes in the manner in which government departments, affected state-owned companies and the industry as a whole address the energy challenges”. But all this is undermined by the renewed push for more nuclear power. By DIRK DE VOS.
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| The Damned Things that start world wars |
This week marks the centenary of an event – the assassination of the heir apparent to the Habsburg throne – that ultimately set off the First World War. J. BROOKS SPECTOR contemplates this anniversary for what it means for today, and how a new generation of historians is tackling this momentous event.
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| Gushwell Brooks: Let Malema speak - he has the right to |
The National Assembly has never been as interesting as it has been during the past week. Never in the history of our Parliamentary history have we been so fixated and enthralled by the shenanigans of our lawmakers, who are giving some serious competition to some of SA’s cheesiest local soapies for viewership numbers – and drama.
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| Crime scene cleaners: ‘Born, not made’ |
Ever wondered who that person is who cleans up the chaos left behind after a violent death or a crime scene? You’re about to find out. By SHAUN SWINGLER.
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| ANC: Time for generational change? |
It may not have been deliberately planned but over the past few weeks since the May elections, there is a rush of young blood in national politics. The country was primed for the onset of militancy in the opposition benches once Julius Malema and his Economic Freedom Fighters made a significant showing in the elections. But since then, Mmusi Maimane has taken over the Democratic Alliance in Parliament, and some young leaders have been pushed forward in the Cabinet. The new voice of the ANC is Zizi Kodwa, a former ANC Youth League firebrand. But by and large, the reins are still in the hands of an ageing generation, in the ANC and the alliance. Has the time come to start handing these over? By RANJENI MUNUSAMY.
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| ‘So help me, Oliver Tambo’: A tribute to the life of Michael Coetzee |
At the Memorial Service for Michael Coetzee held in St Georges Cathedral on Wednesday, the heartfelt tributes delivered by every political party made it clear that, as Secretary to Parliament, he played a pivotal role in building this institution of democracy. Less widely understood, however, is just how important a role he played in bringing about that democracy – nor why he inspired the love and loyalty of such a cross-section of activists. By KATE PHILIP.
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| Hlaudi’s ‘wife’: Lost in translation |
Venda cultural leaders were adamant on Sunday that they never offered the SABC’s Hlaudi Motsoeneng the gift of a wife. While the newspaper that reported the story is sticking to its version, the truth is uncertain. But everyone agrees it’s wrong to offer a woman as a gift. By GREG NICOLSON.
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| Ghana goes to Hollywood: Five talking points |
Ghana and Germany put up a second half worthy of a blockbuster title when they drew 2-2on Saturday night. The Black Stars were much improved, but still some schoolboy errors lingered and Ghana will be kicking themselves for not taking a full three points from the game. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.
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| Johann Redelinghuys: The land issue - and the hooligan now in Parliament |
The rabble-rousing Mr Julius Malema, calling himself “Commander-in-Chief of the EFF”, has wasted no time in making his obnoxious and ill-mannered presence felt in the house. Not for him a measure of respect and acknowledgement of his new responsibility and no recognition of the courteous conduct that would normally be expected from members of a distinguished Parliament.
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| Stephen Grootes: Zuma’s health: The erosion begins |
In any democracy, anywhere, the health of the head of state is a political story. Which means that when President Jacob Zuma arrived at Parliament on Tuesday night, the way he looked, after ten days of “rest”, was always going to be the main talking point. It would take a speaker of Obama proportions to make Twitter trend with “#DevelopmentalFundingInstitutions” rather than #ZumaHealth. So, of course, the gossip that started the day when both the ANC and government announced he was taking time off to rest was always going to peak when he next appeared in public. But then, on Sunday, theSunday Times found a way to use the words “Zuma” and “Heart Scare” in the same, pithy sentence. This is now a fully-fledged political issue. But that does not mean it’s going to lead to political change.
In case you missed it
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| Post-SONA Debate: The President Yawns Back |
On Friday, President Jacob Zuma had a second bite at the State of the Nation cherry: the opportunity to respond to two days of highly acrimonious debate in the National Assembly. Did he come out fighting? Did he smoothly allay concerns? Did he smack down the bolshy parliamentary newcomers? No, no and no. What Zuma delivered was essentially a second, even drier, version of the State of the Nation Address – while EFF supporters took to the street outside parliament to call for his head. By REBECCA DAVIS.
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| AFRICA CHECK: Wrapping up the State of the Nation |
To end off our coverage of President Jacob Zuma's seventh State of the Nation address, we have pulled together some of our most talked about Spot Checks. Researched by Kate Wilkinson and Julian Rademeyer for AFRICA CHECK.
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| Post-SONA Debate, Day 2: The overalls are over it |
The second day of the post-SONA Parliamentary debate ended on a note of high drama, when chair Thandi Modise kicked out EFF leader Julius Malema for his refusal to withdraw Wednesday’s statement that “the ANC massacred the people in Marikana”. It came at the end of a long Parliamentary session characterised again by insults and accusations hurled between parties. By REBECCA DAVIS.
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| Nicky Falkof: Talking the (white) talk; walking the (white) walk |
White guilt is an enigma, to a certain extent: it’s still widely misunderstood, and anyone who brings it up is immediately understood to be full of pathological self-hatred. The trouble is that in some instances, it’s truly warranted – as an advert in truly terrible taste has recently shown.
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| Why do terrorists hate the World Cup? |
Earlier this week in Nigeria, 21 people died when a rickshaw-bomb exploded at a World Cup viewing centre. This isn’t the first time World Cup watchers have been targeted, in Nigeria or elsewhere. What is it about the World Cup that makes it such an attractive target? By SIMON ALLISON.
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| North West: Service delivery? What service delivery? |
The Constitution promises us the right of access to electricity, adequate shelter, water, and a clean environment. These are the underpinnings of service delivery. But in the North West province, people have learned to live without these things. Every so often, there is a death or a violent service delivery protest. After a flurry of headlines the government makes a statement, promises an investigation, and throws some money at the problem. But no amount of money or investigation will solve the basic problem in the North West: cadre deployment that leads to corruption and mismanagement. The towns of the North West are dying: businesses are closing down, farmers are selling out, jobs are disappearing, and services are grinding to a halt. But until the towns of the North West are served by competent people who do their jobs, there is no solution in sight. By NIKI MOORE.
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| Clive Derby-Lewis parole opens renewed speculation into Hani murder and the arms deal |
While Clive Derby-Lewis, the man who procured the gun that Polish immigrant Janusz Walus used to murder Chris Hani in 1993, might be terminally ill and soon let out on parole, questions about alternative motives for Hani’s killing remain. Last week, investigative journalist and former member of the Dutch anti-Apartheid movement, Evelyn de Groenink, published a piece in The ZAMcronicle, an online magazine, reviving a long-held conviction that Hani was murdered because he had been “an obstacle to the R70 billion arms deal being negotiated with ANC leadership at the time”. By MARIANNE THAMM.
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| Soccer: Shame on Cameroon! |
Cameroon’s World Cup campaign has been a shambolic embarrassment, not just for the country, but also for the game of football. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.
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| Pierre de Vos: Tlakula: Stark truth, stark choice |
The findings of the Electoral Court that the Chairperson of South Africa’s Electoral Commission Pansy Tlakula had acted unlawfully and is hence guilty of misconduct warranting removal from office, leave the National Assembly with a stark choice. Either it ignores the damning findings of impropriety on the part of Tlakula made by three different independent bodies and destroys the credibility of the Electoral Commission, or it takes action against Tlakula and recommends her removal from office.
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| Cyril Ramaphosa: The Man Who Would Be King |
With Jacob Zuma out of action due to ill health, it has been Cyril Ramaphosa who has been filling his shoes at official functions – and looking as if those shoes were fitting him pretty nicely. Deputy Presidents are often relegated to the status of mere figureheads, as Kgalema Motlanthe discovered, but there are already indications that Ramaphosa will not be lying low. It was the deputy president, not the president, who was the honoured guest at an annual post-SONA breakfast briefing in Cape Town. And it was Ramaphosa who was singled out by Julius Malema for special criticism at the post-SONA Parliamentary debate. By REBECCA DAVIS.
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| Robben Island fence art: Apartheid porn, political kitsch or salvaging history? |
Call it Apartheid porn, call it political kitsch, call it crass commercialism, but we can’t deny that were it not for one man’s keen eye, the fence that once surrounded D Block Maximum Security Prison on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were incarcerated for much of their lives, would have ended up in a landfill where it would have rusted into oblivion. Instead, what some deemed a worthless piece of scrap is being turned into works of art and jewellery. But not everyone’s happy. By MARIANNE THAMM.
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