Category: annoying people

I give up

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There have been many comments made this week over just how terribly depressing the news in general has been recently. And while people are killing each other all over the world, mainly (but not exclusively) in the name of religion, I’ve managed to mentally put these horrible events onto the back burner and get on with my life.

But this more local story about three farmworkers getting into an argument and two of them allegedly killing the other by throwing oranges at him has brought the futility of my trying to ignore depressing news to the fore:

Two men have been arrested after they allegedly assaulted a farmworker with oranges until he died on a farm outside Tzaneen, Limpopo police said on Wednesday.
The men, aged 27 and 30, were taken into custody on Tuesday, said Lt-Col Moatshe Ngoepe.
“Babanto Chauke, 38, and two men had a quarrel, the two [allegedly] started throwing loose oranges at him until he died.” The men were Chauke’s colleagues at Lakota Farm. They would appear in the Tzaneen Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, Ngoepe said.

How cheap is human life? How bad does any argument have to be for you to kill a man? To kill him by throwing fruit at him? How long does that even take?

For me, this is every bit as depressing as Iraq, Nigeria or Gaza. And equally stupid.

UPDATE: Paul Scott (see comment below) also shares this:

0jF8ODY

Cape Town: Big Bangs Theories

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We like to help out our local readers here in Cape Town, much as we like to help out our readers all over the world. But especially in Cape Town because Cape Town is home and Capetonians need more help than a lot of people.

Take the annual road closures for the State Opening of Parliament. First off, this is an annual event and it also happens every year. We’re warned about it in the newspapers, on Facebook, twitter, radio and TV. And then on blogs too.

It never does any good. The flood of warnings, I mean, not Parliament.
(Let’s save that discussion for another day, shall we?)

Somehow, the message doesn’t get through and then there’s panic on the streets of Cape Town; Gardens, Green Point, Waterkant. I wonder to myself.

Anyway, I’m going to try again. No road closures this time, just some big bangs early in the morning, as Cape Town welcomes the British frigate HMS Iron Duke into the harbour:

The South African Navy will welcome a British Royal Navy ship to Cape Town in grand style.
The HMS Iron Duke will receive a 21 gun salute when it nears Robben Island around 7:30 tomorrow morning.

21 guns is some welcome. The Iron Duke only gave the Lt Governor of Jersey a 15 gun salute as she passed by the Channel Islands in June. The SA Navy is going all out with a mighty 40% increase on gun salutage – and HMS Iron Duke will respond in kind:

 The Navy’s Chief Petty Officer, Dudley Malgas says the Signal Hill Noon Gun will be used in a 21 gun salute to welcome the HMS Iron Duke.
“They will follow with their 21 gun salute, and we will then respond with our 21 gun salute.”

I’m already a bit lost. Does this mean 42 bangs or 63? Never has my 21 times table been so widely used.
Either way, it’s going to be very noisy and very early and people in Cape Town are going to get very panicky. No amount of forewarning will have any effect and everyone in the CBD will think that Burundi is invading. Again.

But spread the word anyway. Be that one that can say: “Er… yeah. Didn’t you read that blog post I shared? Damn, you’re just so underinformed sometimes.” or whatever. And ask them if they are know about the road closures for the State Opening of Parliament in February. They won’t.

In case you were wondering, here’s why we have 21 gun salutes:

The custom stems from naval tradition, where a warship would fire its cannons harmlessly out to sea, until all ammunition was spent, to show that it was disarmed, signifying the lack of hostile intent. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, with the number decreasing with the rank of the recipient of the honour.

And, as some added DVD extras: here’s some info on HMS Iron Duke, and here’s the video to Sometimes by Liverpool rockers Sound of Guns.

Sound of Guns. Geddit?

Thanks Ani

PistoriusBalls 19

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It’s Friday, and in an attempt to get through to the tea break before anyone else, Andrew Harding is in the courtroom early today and he’s brought his musical analogy collection with him:

  Andrew has his eye on Barry Roux:

He’s “writing furiously by the looks of it”? Why “by the looks of it”? What else do you think he might be doing?
How can the action of “writing furiously” at a desk in a courtroom be mistaken for anything else?
What other task might he be carrying out that may lead you have even a semblance of doubt that he was not writing, furiously?
I put it to you that if he is sitting at a desk, in a courtroom, with a pen in his hand, moving it furiously over some paper, then it’s highly unlikely that he’s sowing radishes or piloting an Airbus A380.
He’s writing, isn’t he? Furiously.

By the looks of it, anyway.

 

What an odd emotion for him to be showing, given the circumstances.
But at least he’s not tired today:

 

But exhaustion is obviously affecting some people. Look at this tired attempt at humour:

“I’m here all week. Try the veal.”

 

But then there were no more week and they were gone. And, quite possibly, so is this series.

Pending an appeal, anyway.

The Stupid – It Hurts!

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After someone mischievously suggested yesterday that Retreat Day Hospital in Cape Town was on lockdown due to a suspected Ebola case (it wasn’t), this “brilliant” idea is doing the rounds in Nigeria right now:

VERY URGENT PLS. INFORMATION IS GOING ROUND FROM TRUSTED SOURCES THAT EVERY ONE IS TO POUR SALT IN WARM WATER AND USE IT TO BATH BEFORE DAY BREAK THIS MORNING AS EBOLA VACCINE.

That’ll work. And it does raise the question as to why America is not sharing its salt and warm water reserves.

So what are these trusted sources?
Well, you have to look no further than the very next paragraph to er… not find out:

I don’t even know the origin but every call I’m receiving now points to that. Since salty water is not harmful to skin I think it’s just better we do it.

Have you tried sticking sweetcorn in your ears? I only ask because that’s not harmful to skin either and will have absolutely no effect on Ebola infection either?

UPDATE: WHO tweet

Interesting that they’re not taking the sweetcorn angle on this.

PistoriusBalls 18

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Summing up, and thus we’re getting towards pretty much the last chance for the journos in the court to come up with The Quote or The Soundbite which will be The Title of The Book about The Trial.

On Nel’s Effects:

The BBC have gone with “Mosaic”:

Sky, with “Snowball”:


And SA’s ECR with “Domino”:

 

Meanwhile, back in 1994:

 

The competition as to who will be the first to tweet the tea break announcement is as tight as ev… oh, no, it’s reigning champion Andrew Harding as usual:

 

And this simply can’t be true.
I’m pretty sure the judge would not allow him to do either of these things in court:

“Mr Nel, would you please keep your voice down and remove yourself from that state witness.
At once!”