Zuma the homophobe

Hardly had Mhambi mused that South African presidential hopeful Jacob Zuma would have his work cut out to be worse than incumbent Mbeki, he made a giant stride to that goal. He is reported to have said at a public gathering that same-sex marriages are "a disgrace to the nation and to God".

"When I was growing up, unqingili ['homosexuals' in the Zulu language] could not stand in front of me," Zuma was quoted as saying at the public meeting.

Oops.

Sphere: Related Content

The big Zuma debate

transparent
Originally uploaded by max_thinks_sees.

If your a middle or upper class South African, or white, asian, coloured - apparently its time to be worried. A Zuma presidency is looming.

Should they be worried? Can Zuma be so much worse they Mbeki? Can't he be better?

Ah! I hear you say: How can somebody that thinks showering after sex will offer protection againt HIV be President! Huh well... the current President untill very recently denied that HIV caused Aids at all, and still has not thrown his full wait behind combatting the disease. He is responsible for the deaths of thousands of South Africans, more that Adriaan Vlok, the ex apartheid minister of law and order, and arguably in a more direct way. At least Zuma has been contrite and come out strongly that HIV does cause Aids.

Ah, but Zuma is a socialist. Is he? None of his economic utterances have indicated that. South Africa needs some serious government intervention if equality is ever going to be adressed in a meaningfull way. The Mbeki government has been too hands off for too long. A bit more state in this country is exactly what we need. That does not mean it will have to be a socialist state. But a social demoracy that cares for all its citizens according to their needs.

At least Zuma has never been a racialist. Unlike Mbeki who it seems, people forget, has played the race card on more than one occasion.

Mhambi is not saying that Zuma will be good for South Africa. We don't really know. But whether he will be that much worse - well he has he work cut out if he wants to achieve that.

Sphere: Related Content

Never a dull moment in South Africa

Johannesburg
Originally uploaded by Michael Heilemann.

I have been in South Africa for nearly two months now and I must admit, I love it here. Here is an electricity - an energy in the air - and I am hardwired to conduct it, to use it.

Even though I have been away for eight years I know the people and I know the issues. But don't get me wrong. The country has moved on. Aliances have shifted, moral black and whites are no longer black and white. Even South Africa's history is changing.

Sphere: Related Content

Are we having sex now or what?

Soup de Jour # 2
Originally uploaded by cefph.

Maybe if both of you (or all of you) think of it as sex, then it's sex whether you're having fun or not. That clears up the problem of sex that's consented to but not wished for or enjoyed. Unfortunately, it begs the question again, only worse: Now you have to mesh different people's vague and inarticulate notions of what is and isn't sex and find the place where they overlap. Too messy.

Sex can't only mean penetration of a woman by a man now can it? Whether its about bragging rights or continued cordial relationships with friends after a intimate evening, what exactly constitutes sex is important. This blog posting tries to unravel the age old question - what consitutes sex?

Sphere: Related Content

Die Brixton Moord en Roof Orkes

Die Brixton Moord en Roof Orkes
Originally uploaded by Wildebeast1.

I went to watch my friend Andries and his band play a gig. He did a quick poll of the attendees, who were bar two, all white and most Afrikaans. "How many of you think that Wessel should come back to South Africa?" The overwhelming concensus was that I should not...

Sphere: Related Content

Rokkeloos, at last

After the long wait I finally got to see Rokkeloos. But alas they were not the finished article. Minus a drummer and with a new lead guitarist they just did not sound like their CD. No underwear was lost. Still, they are rather nice to look at.
Rokkeloos
Originally uploaded by Wildebeast1.

Sphere: Related Content

Kan die huwelik gered word?

Kan die huwelik gered word?
Originally uploaded by Wildebeast1.

Zuma or Mbeki? Now that is a the burning question wrecking relationships country wide.

IS THIS the best of times, or the worst?

These are heady days for democracy: taboos on debate in the African National Congress (ANC) alliance, which seemed set in stone, have evaporated, bringing new vigour to our politics.

Both in the ANC alliance and one of its key components, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), attempts to place a lid on competitive elections have failed.

The ANC succession contest was evident last week at the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) conference and in the promise of a contest for the Cosatu presidency — despite apparent attempts to prevent one....

Another open challenge to the government is on AIDS....

Finally, parliamentary committees have challenged an official report on intelligence and the government’s position on energy policy. Both were doing what they are meant to do — holding government to account on behalf of citizens...

It is hard to imagine a series of events which hold so much democratic promise. A pattern of loyalty to authority figures has suddenly given way to one in which leaders face new demands to account for what they do and say. But excitement at democracy’s gathering strength is tempered by the knowledge that all these events are centred around a campaign to ensure that an individual becomes president — and that the campaign has been accompanied by less democratic tendencies, such as hostility to the media, refusal to accept the accountability of politicians to the law, and disregard for women’s dignity and rights.

This raises the uncomfortable possibility that the support for difference and democracy we have seen these past few days is not an attempt to make leaders more accountable, but to switch authority from one leadership figure to another.

STEVEN FRIEDMAN

Sphere: Related Content

My favourite Flickr members keeps on impressing

Originally uploaded by tetheredtothesun.

Here is another stunningly gorgeous photo by Olive and Rose, It reminds of Gustav klimt. wow.

Sphere: Related Content

Ghanaian gay conference banned

Ghana's government has banned a conference for gay men and lesbians due to take place there later this month.
Information Minister Kwamena Bartels said as homosexuality was illegal in Ghana the gathering was not permitted.

"Government does not condone any such activity which violently offends the culture, morality and heritage of the entire people of Ghana," he said.

He warned that disciplinary action would be taken if anyone was found to have contravened the law.

Sphere: Related Content

60 Somalis allegdedly killed in Cape Town

About 60 Somalis have been killed and another 15 injured in the Western Cape in the past two months in a deliberate attempt to chase businessmen from the African country out of Cape Town’s townships, according to the Somali residents.

Sphere: Related Content