Congratulations to Louis and Joulene

Hello Everybody,
Trusting all is well.

Yesterday December 14 we celebrated the marriage agreement between my son Louis and Joulene. Today I want to tell you about this wedding.

Louis and Joulene both work in the music industry and have been friends for many years. During last year, they started dating and soon they were in love with one another. Head over heels, captivated and blinded by love.

I will say that these two are genuinely soul mates, so compatible and adaptable. Theirs was no whirlwind romance but certainly a committed relationship.

They are two people who openly express their love for one another and make countless sacrifices, please each other. Sometimes I think it is their competitive nature, but mostly it is their enduring everlasting love they have for one another.
Their wedding was a small event and attended to by almost fifty people.

The church service was friendly and inspiring. Listening to their vows brought a tear to my eye, it was moving and beautiful. There was no extravagant party but a small tea and cake event after the service, which was unusual, pleasant and enjoyable. All the guests, mostly family, were thrilled with the preparation and organization of the wedding.

The bridal couple, family members and friends went to a local park entertaining a small dam to take the official wedding photos. We had glorious weather, the sun shining brightly, a gentle breeze blowing, the lush green grass and tall Willow trees were attractive for a photo shoot.

Not to forget the duck families swimming around near the edge of the dam, waiting for humans to throw some crumbs their way.

A wonderful day and wishing the new married couple a lifetime of blessings and happiness!

Laura

Mandela Here, Mandela there, and Mandela Everywhere

Hello everybody,

What can I possibly say about Nelson Mandela, its the huge media coverage that says it all. The media exposure is explosive, compelling and massive.

Anyway I wrote an article, giving my views on this and it was published in the Guardian Express. Here is the link should you want to have a read.

Mandela Here, There and Everywhere [Op-Ed]

I think it is sheer madness, anyway that is my opinion. Especially here in South Africa, it seems as though the entire country has some opinion or comment or tribute they need to have published. Crazy, but I will say that some of the comments to the local articles are far more entertaining than the actual article. People are truly crazy sometimes; it's astounding to read what they have to say. It is entertaining and sometimes downright true.

I spent this morning writing another article and will probably have this published later on today. Of course, it's about Mandela. As Mandela is a top trending topic, I thought I would do another article.

I am so looking forward to the New Year, and the follow up on the Zuma scandal, the Nkandla spending and disclosure of the public protector's reports. We could say that the announcement of the Mandela death has given Zuma a reprieve and taken the spotlight off of him.

I certainly hope that the opposition parties and the media don’t forget to indulge in the Nkandla affair after Nelson Mandela is finally buried in Qunu.

I am sure that the Zuma followers will continue to protect him and deny the corruption of the latest scandal and hope that Mandela's death will force people to forget his devious deeds.

With the phenomenal media coverage Mandela is getting, I am sure the majority will not even think about Zuma and his corrupt allies.

Well timed, and well played. We have to say that Zuma is a true genius of manipulation.
I heard a rumor that something is coming down at the end of this year, it's to do with an influx of people that will arrive in South Africa, and this could either mean that Zuma has another plan to manipulate the people or that he is being cautious ahead of the elections. Will keep you posted.

Have a super week.
Your friend,
Laura

NELSON MANDELA DEATH ANNOUNCEMENT WAS EXPECTED

Hello again,

Early I said, the Nelson Mandela death reporting is all over the internet, television, radios, its astounding.

Well let me have a moment to give my two pennies worth as well.

What again!!!!! The reporting of the death of Nelson Mandela seems to realize the extent of how people have lost their minds over the expected death. Do I care, no, I don’t, it was expected and only the government and family knew when the main date would be announced?
It's ironic that they chose December 5, there is a link to this date with history and I am sure that soon the media will report on events that connect this date.

The reporting of his death: no not dead, oh wait, placed on life support: no no, sorry, dead again, life support oh what the heck: during June and July and the consistent reporting that gripped the attention of the world was enough. The drama we had to endure during these months, with the constant spotlight on Mandela, his family and the corrupt government. Gosh, that was a trying time for all. Well it is true Mandela was worshiped in a particularly dangerous cult fashion.

This expected death notification is a sad moment I can imagine. There are the extremely intense and connected followers of Nelson Mandela and the millions that do hold the man in high esteem and yes, he is not a God. Then there are the media that will play out this death with all the drama and reporting of each and every possible significance of his life.

Never in history has so much media hype being given to one person, such as Mandela, this is SO incredible!!!!!!! THE POWER OF THE MEDIA, It is remarkable really.

Can you imagine if the media gave Jesus this much attention and coverage, what a glorious world it would be indeed? This power is astounding, its BIG.

I am so pleased to have found a radio station that is playing MUSIC, yeah finally some normality.

NELSON MANDELA - FINALLY WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello everybody,

Open up a newspaper, check the internet online channels and listen to the radios, the death of Nelson Mandela is broadcast. The South African government have officially announced his death, and this is world news.

Here are two links to stories published about this end and I will honestly say they are worth the read.




Article 1

Article 2

I would still say that the South African Government did not announce his real date of death and that Mandela was kept alive on life support machines for a long time. His agony started last year December when he was admitted to the Military Hospital and received treatment for a gall stone surgery. Something went wrong there and the truth was not told.

Mandela suffered most of this year and the announcement of his death is at least an admission by the government and his family to let the man return to his ancestors in dignity (if any is left) and rest in peace.

The timing of this announcement, in my opinion, is carefully orchestrated, the South African schools closed for the December holidays. Manufacturing and industrial companies start their three to four week annual shutdown and most of the South Africans will take annual leave. Even parliament closes for the year-end. I reckon that nearly 70 percent of the people will not be working, and can you see, it is perfect. There will be no disruption with traffic, no public holidays need to be implemented, no economic panic, and everybody who wants to pay respects and enter a period of mourning for the legendary Nelson Mandela will have the time to do so.

Another opinion I express is that the recent reports on president Zuma and his lavish spending on his homestead Nkandla, and the vast amount of money for road upgrades leading to his retreat have been in the spotlight recently and this is a national embarrassment to the country. Now that Mandela is once again front page news, the Zumaland affairs will quietly disappear and people will forget.


Well now we move forward and hope for the best.

Take care.
Your friend,
Laura

We Cannot Think Like Africans

Dear Friends,

Hello again, I am sharing another article that I wrote and was published in the Guardian Express a month ago.

I am sure you will recall the media frenzy regarding the Zuma comments on this one.

South African President Jacob Zuma has once again outraged the people of the African Continent. "We can’t think like Africans, in Africa, generally. We are in Johannesburg, this is Johannesburg. It's not some national road in Malawi," Zuma said. He was addressing a meeting of the Gauteng Manifesto Forum at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg on E-tolls among other matters.
His arrogant statement has caused widespread outrage and promptly spiked a ripple effect on the social media sites, including Twitter.

Public comments range from hilarious to serious concern. People are angry and not only black people but many whites are referring to this comment as calling all South Africans ignorant. One of the comments stated that had a white person uttered those words, it would be considered racist and cause an uproar. How true that is. The younger educated generation seem angry with Zuma for referring to them as ignorant and emphatically stated they were not stupid. Scores of people are requesting the presidency to scrap the E-tolling project. This additional tax system will generate a greater degree of poverty for the already millions of people who cannot afford to pay more.

Zuma said in his speech that if people could afford a car they could pay the E toll tax and if not they should use public transport. That comment is inappropriate; the president has no idea how pathetic the public transport system actually is. There are a few buses with drivers always on strike, they never arrive on time, and many areas do not have buses. The train monopoly is unusable, besides the continues strikes, the persistent delays, these carriages are a health hazard, the filth and stench would certainly create further problems. The only reliable public transport is the infamous Gautrain, and it is subject to delays, strikes and overcrowding. The other option would be to use the Mini Taxi's and that would be like taking a death ride. The taxis are not roadworthy, most drivers have fabricated licenses, they are always overcrowded, and they drive like hooligans. The road accidents involving these taxi's are high. Zuma perhaps should attempt to address the public transport issue before trying to create additional revenue from the already heavily taxed system implemented in South Africa.The taxes paid by the citizens are high, and there are virtually no public services available.

Such a classic racist comment from the top man of the country. The government the ruling party, the ANC, support Zuma. Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj said Zuma’s statement has been "taken out of context" and "blown out of proportion" by the media." Were made in the broader context of South Africa “achieving more” in the past 19 years of freedom and democracy.
"The African National Congress welcomes the role played by traditional and social media in our national discourse," spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.

"It is important therefore that those privileged to form opinion on these networks do so with the intention of promoting fair and balanced reporting, a call we believe would not have arisen had the president's comments been placed in context."

The opposition party, Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the president to retract his statement.

Well only in South Africa, can the president utter such undermining harmful and downright stupid comment? The government is still determined to blame the media for taking the president's words and turning it into a national scandal. It is a dishonest attempt by the government to condemn the media when they have a transcript of the recorded speech. Such a statement can only be summarized by stating that Zuma is talking like an African!

The End!

I must admit that President Zuma certainly is a hugely entertaining president, he does raise a few laughs and always seems to produce a smile upon our faces with his off the cuff remarks.


Well I think this picture sums up how I feel.
Have a wonderful week.
All the best.
Your friend,
Laura