Erroll

Don't knock it 'till you've tried it. It is fun but does require above average skills. It is strange how so many people will just trash it even though they have never bothered to try it . Did I mention that it is fun?

Yup. Ban sex and pretty soon there won't be any youth. Two birds with one stone and all that.

It certainly is not your delightful turn of phrase.

Given the above qoute, I doubt that anyone would bother.

You really expect the Brits to lose their marbles? Oh, wait.....

You've seen a lot of 'parachute cord' then?

From The Sunday Times in South Africa:- Even wider ban on weapons.

You can't blame her for being confused. After all, there is a huge difference between percetage (sic) and pertage.

One would also expect some kind of specialised 'seating' arrangement. Travelling 40+ kilometers under canopy could play havoc with one's blood circulation.

In sports one often finds folks who support the underdog and folks who support the favourite. With Barack Obama on a roll and with the Texas primary looming, I'm curious:- To what extent would Hillary supporters and 'undecideds' vote for Obama just because he is leading the Democratic race?

Zimbabwe's official inflation rate is 66000%. Quotes from that article:- In the early '70s one US dollar would buy you only 70 South African cents. Today you will get about 764 cents for your dollar. The winds of change they are a-blowing...

Try as I may, I can't get any of those words to lisp.

That puts things very nicely into perspective. Any talk of "a laptop for every child" is hugely premature.

Excellent idea. Now if only someone can come up with a way of limiting the number of 'levels' a poster can quote. It is really frustrating to have to wade through 10 indentations of quotes, repeated by the responding poster, who then adds a one-liner (usually an insult of some kind).

Sounds like witchcraft to me. Indeed. Surely a much simpler statement would be " Wait until the departed group is at a 45 degree angle to you..."?

A very insightfull and accurate post, Jamile. (Frenchy's take on borders and Christel's view on the diversity of Africa are also very valid.)

If I were a woman or a Black person I would have found that statement so condescending! Women have always had to 'prove' themselves first, haven't they? Well, you have Allbright and Rice, you have female astronauts, you have female pilots in combat zones. Elsewhere there was Indhira Ghandi, Golda Meir, Maggie Thatcher, Bennazir Bhutto- all Prime Ministers of their countries. Of the above Israel, Pakistan and India have scarcely been independant for 60-odd years! What growing up do you think your females have to do???

I think that is very important, especially given what happened in 2000. Forgive my ignorance, Wendy, but I don't know when the House and Senate are next due to have a shake-up/elections. What effect do you think the composition of Congress is likely to have if the Dems still controll both?

Absolutely! Biltong is a must. Pity you're a vegetarian, else you could have tried ostrich biltong. But I doubt you really lost any friends because of that. You sound way too sweet.

Why? What is it that she (on her own) could do that would be so terrible? I was still in primary school when Prime Minister H.F. Verwoerd of South Africa was assisinated, but I vividly remember the older folk saying to each other "Just wait until John Vorster becomes Prime Minister. The Blacks won't even be allowed to walk on the same side of the street as us". This obviously never materialised, even though John Vortster was a staunch supporter of Apartheid.

Indeed. Rhodesia was once known as the bread basket of Africa. Now it is a basket case. Perhaps the winds of change blew a tad too strong for all of us?

Good, I'll be in Jo'burg on friday Remind me - did you work at Joburg Gen or Bara? Either way, you have a head start. Enjoy your stay (but carry a candle in your pocket!) [edited to add] Study this list on the plane:- YOU ARE PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN WHEN: You call a bathing suit a "swimming costume". You call a traffic light a "robot". You call an elevator a "lift" You call a hood a "bonnet" You call a trunk a "boot" You call a pickup truck a "bakkie" You call a Barbeque a "Braai" The employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are. The SABC advertises and shows highlights of the programme you just finished watching. You get cold easily. Anything below 16 degrees Celsius is Arctic weather. You know what Rooibos Tea is, even if you've never had any. You can sing your national anthem in four languages, and you have no idea what it means in any of them. You know someone who knows someone who has met Nelson Mandela. You go to braais regularly, where you eat boerewors and swim, sometimes simultaneously. You know that there's nothing to do in the Orange Free State . You produce a R100 note instead of your driver's licence when stopped by a traffic officer. You can do your monthly shopping on the pavement. You have to hire a security guard whenever you park your car. When you are a victim of crime and say: "At least I'm still alive". You know a taxi can move twice its certified number of people in one trip. You travel 100's of kilometres to see snow. You know the rules of Rugby better than any referee To get free electricity you have to pay a connection fee of R750. More people vote in a local reality TV show than in a local election. People have the most wonderful names: Christmas, Goodwill, Pretty, Wednesday, Blessing, Brilliant, Gift, Precious, Innocence and Given, Patience, Portion, Coronation. "Now now" or "just now" can mean anything from a minute to a month. You continue to wait after a traffic light robot has turned to green to make way for taxis travelling in the opposite direction. Travelling at 120 km/h you're the slowest vehicle on the highway/freeway. You're genuinely and pleasantly surprised whenever you find your car parked where you left it. A bullet train is being introduced, but we can't fix potholes. The last time you visited the coast you paid more in speeding fines and toll fees than you did for the entire holiday. You paint your car's registration on the roof. You have to take your own linen with you if you are admitted to a government hospital. You have to prove that you don't need a loan to get one. Prisoners go on strike. You don't stop at a red traffic light robot, in case somebody hijacks your car. You consider it a good month if you only get mugged once. Rwandan refugees start leaving the country because the crime rate is too high. You consider a high crime rate as normal.

Add to that: Jackie Selebi, national police commisioner, is to stand trial on charges of curruption and defeating the ends of justice. Our one-time health minister told us to eat garlic and sweet potatoes to counter HIV. Our energy and minerals minister tells us to go to bed early when the power is out - that will make us cleverer (sic). Our lame duck President claims he doesn't know any one who has died of AIDS. One of our metropolitan police chiefs (currently on suspension for drunk driving and defeating the ends of justice) is a convicted murderer. An ANC member of parliament suggested to we legalise prostitution during the 2010 Soccer world Cup, so that fewer women will get raped. Headlines in today's newspapers: SA schools are the most dangerous in the world. University close seven campuses following damages as a result of running battles between striking students and police. Infant dumping turning into national crisis. No fuel deliveries to Caltex garages (service stations) in a week. What can I say. Africa is not for sissies?

From Wendy's extract of the letter :- I too am astounded by the vast amount of money that is spent during the American election process. Although one doesn't see as much overt corruption over there as we do down here, one does wonder:- What is in it for those generous campaign contributors? As an aside, I am also amused and amazed by the amount of intolerance and antagonism displayed by some of the posters (Dems vs Reps) on here. The vitriol, insults, generalisations and profanities traded here do not appear to be a reflection of the real world, yet the fervour with which some posters attack each other, one would expect otherwise. Finally Marg, I find it interesting that after 300 years of independence, you still refer to this as the American experiment. Any reason?

I don't think what happens in the American elections will affect South Africa one way or the other. We are too small, too far away, and anyway, we have no oil.