Madmom

There are eight 24.com bloggers on the final list for voting on the 2010 SA Blog Awards.

Of those five are from the 'Parent' forum.

The others are:

blogs.sport24.co.za/myworldofsport (Sport)

blogs.food24.com/janicetripepi  (Food)

blogs.parent24.com/Sumanda  (Indigenous language)

blogs.parent24.com/dirksema  (Parenting)

blogs.parent24.com/ebonyandivory

blogs.parent24.com/tania.roux

blogs.parent24.com/Tansy

blogs.fin24.com/bertieduplessis (Business)

I cannot believe that the biggest blogging forum in South Africa only managed to get eight blogs on the list.

What has struck me is that most of the blogs (Parenting) were encouraged by their editor to enter the awards.

We were not.

It is this type of apathy that will still kill off Letterdash.

There - I've said it.  Sue me.

Now push off and vote for our lot.

(Follow the link, Belinda)

I'm five days short of 4 years of blogging here. 

I think it's as good a time as any to take a short break.

Nothing is wrong.

See ya!

(There is a critical shortage of food at the hospitals. Please donate if you can. Other urgent requirements are sanitary towels, nappies, soap, cleaning materials etc. There is security to ensure your safety or organise with a local church to deliver)

'President Jacob Zuma says he was so touched by a shack dweller's plight today that he whipped out R600 and told her to buy food for her family.'

'In the Eastern Cape, Zuma had promised there that he would personally fund new wheelchairs for two disabled people he met.'

Oh wow!

Big bloody deal!

But I suppose dipping into your petty cash has bought three more votes.

So all is well then.

Geez, I'm struggling to get my eyes to wake up. The body is working - sort of - but them eyes are still in la-la land. Another cup of java, methinks, might do the trick. Or not. Anyhoo, here are the Snippets. Excuse any spelling errors - blame it on the eyes.

Trade unions have threatened to continue their civil service strike - defying a court order that doctors, nurses and other essential services staff return to work. By law, those providing essential services - such as police officers, immigration officers at high-security points, emergency workers and paramedics - are not allowed to strike, but over a million civil servants downed tools on Wednesday, causing chaos at many of South Africa's hospitals and schools. Rumour has it the the Municipalities might down tools in sympathy.

Confidential ANC documents provide fascinating insight into the inner workings of the ruling party - and how top officials were accused of covering up an investigation into a billionaire's alleged theft of R400 000. A series of journals, letters and internal reports - salvaged from a neglected storeroom at Eastern Cape's Fort Hare University - show that senior ANC members were investigated after allegations that they had fleeced the party of investments worth millions. Mining billionaire Mzi Khumalo, and eThekwini city manager Mike Sutcliffe's former company, Vukani Consolidated Services, was probed for allegedly defrauding the ANC - allegations Khumalo and Sutcliffe this week dismissed. Our blogger Colonialist is going to love this!

A high-ranking KwaZulu-Natal police detective who drives a luxury car, lives in an up-market beach-front flat and has an interest in a private security company, is being probed by the Hawks. More than 10 cases of corruption, defeating the ends of justice, extortion, unlawful detention and victimisation have been opened in the past seven years against Lieutenant-Colonel Reuben Govender, detective branch commander in Verulam, north of Durban. The crooked arm of the law, eh?

After two weeks of criticism by local and international organisations as a threat to freedom, the government's proposed Protection of Information Bill has now been slammed by the head of one of South Africa's top universities as a threat to education as well. Dr Max Price, vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, said he would oppose the bill "vigorously" in its present form, because "the consequences of restricted access to information impinge profoundly on the university's ability to do research and analyse public policy". Watch certain people call him a bladdy agent.

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema yesterday barred journalists from the opening session of the organisation's Eastern Cape conference soon after he was booed by delegates. A group of delegates began booing and shouting as a chauffeur-driven Malema arrived at the Grahamstown Indoor Sports Centre in a grey Mercedes-Benz.

Mugabe told his ZANU-PF party's central committee in the capital Harare that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai must call for the removal of a western travel ban and asset freeze on the 86-year-old leader and his inner circle.

Zimbabwe Finance Minister Tendai Biti says President Robert Mugabe has been given one month to appoint MDC treasurer Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister.

At a relief camp in north-west Pakistan, food is provided by a hardline Islamist charity with links to the terrorists blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Australia was facing its first hung parliament in 70 years today after a night of vote-counting failed to deliver a majority to either prime minister Julia Gillard or her challenger Tony Abbott.

The US sought to reassure Israel that Iran is still a year away from building a nuclear weapon, as Iran's leadership hailed the fuelling of its first nuclear power plant.

The government of Southern Sudan has unveiled urban blueprints to rebuild cities in the shape of animals.

Venezuela's ambassador to the United States is defending his country's controversial airline service to the capitals of Syria and Iran -- both countries designated by the U.S. as state sponsors of terrorism.

The United States has made an impassioned plea for Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, to be returned to jail. (He of Shaiky-type terminal illness that is not terminal)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirms that Israel and? the Palestinians have agreed to resume direct peace negotiations in?Washington early next month.

A Muslim woman is suing Disneyland, accusing the company’s California theme park of discrimination for telling her she could not serve customers if she chose to wear a headscarf.

An increasing number of Americans wrongly believe that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, with nearly one in four saying he is a follower of Islam, according to a new poll.

Women-only train carriages have been introduced this week in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, in an attempt to avert groping and sexual harassment on packed commuter trains.

At least 30 security guards were killed and another 15 wounded in a clash with Taliban fighters, according to Afghan police.

Some 4.6 million survivors of Pakistan’s floods are still without shelter, according to the UN.

More than 100 Roma were deported by France on Friday in the second day of a controversial clampdown on the minority group.

The Russian state has been given a month by a court to prove it owns the Kremlin after descendants of Ivan the Terrible filed a lawsuit to stake their claim to the Moscow landmark.

A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals to paralyse a man by damaging his spinal cord as punishment after he was convicted of attacking another man, the brother of the victim said on Thursday.

An 11-year-old albino girl from Swaziland was shot dead in front of her friends and then beheaded in what police believe was a ritual murder.

Illegal immigrants have been discovered working as cleaners at the House of Commons, UK – an embarrassing security breach at the tightly guarded building.

The UK NHS (National Health Service, Belinda) spent a 'scandalous' £313 million on management consultants last year – as thousands of staff faced job cuts.

And because I can - wheelie bin men in the UK, refusing to collect bins that have their lids just one centimetre open, have had to get police protection after facing clashes with residents.

Adriana Lima

Benjamin Godfre

Now push off and have fun!

(Acknowledgements: Sunday Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian, IOL, Reuters, CNN, Skynews and Google)

......as I strikes me you lot are tired of hearing about the violent tendencies of the mobs out there.....

With the prolific breeding habits that the good president has developed, the rumour circulating KZN is that he is contemplating having the province renamed "KwaZuma Natal"

(Acknowledgements to my fb comrade in arms)

One of the things to come out from this ongoing strike is the ever present huge disparity in income.

The difference between earning a living wage and scraping together an existence has been highlighted by this strike.

We, the Mads are in the fortunate position of having our kids at a former Model C school.  The school is still running at full teaching capacity. In fact, the matrics are staying in an extra 2 hours every day for extra maths and science to ensure the kids are well prepared for the preliminary exams.

Our school is in a financial position to hire private security to ensure the safety of the kids is not at risk.  The parents have pitched in to patrol the area on the lookout for unruly mobs.  Not so those at disadvantaged schools. The parents are trying to make a living of some sort and aren't available. There are no funds for private security. Most of the schools don't have proper fencing to keep the yobs out. 

We are blessed to be able to afford the best medical care at private facilities.  Not so for millions who are entirely dependant on government hospitals and clinics. I am not saying the quality of doctors and nurses there are inferior at all. Indeed, some of the best medical practioners can be found there. But, because the system is chaotic at best, patients' wellbeing is compromised. Our vulnerable children have borne the brunt of the strikes at the hospitals.

These are the kids that our future depends on. They are the one's that will lead our country in the future. How are they expected to participate when their education and medical care is violently disrupted - far too often than what is essential for nation building.  South Africa is at the top of the list of protesting nations. In 1995 we had a world record of 6 000 strikes!

Where to from here? 

Time for another vloermoer!

I'm gatvol and going to do something about it.

“We have shut down St Aidan's, RK Khan, Inkosi Albert Luthuli, Addington and King Edward hospitals,” said Bafana Bafana spokesman Sivuyile Ntshoko, who is also the chairman of the King Edward branch of the National Education, Health, and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu).

'At a rural hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, striking workers stood at the hospital gates holding knives and waving sticks, preventing ambulances from driving in.'

'The medical registration room, doctors' and matrons' offices were locked, as was the pharmacy. The X-ray rooms, casualty and paediatric wards were deserted, with floors unswept and blood-stained linen on beds.'

'One patient, Nthabiseng Mofokeng, 20, sat under a tree outside, hoping a nurse would attend to her sick two-month-old baby who was vomiting.'

I've just heard on the radio of mobs charging into operating theatres and forcefully removing critical staff who were operating.

There are reports that five people have died because of the blockades at the hospitals.

This makes me apoplectic with rage.

I want heads to roll.

I want those responsible to be prosecuted for manslaughter.

And I'm going to harass every MP until those arrests take place.

(Disclaimer: I am all for decent salaries, heck I don't even mind the odd strike but not at the cost of innocent lives)

Shoulder problems of certain cadres are one of the more common causes for pains in the neck of the public. The shoulder is the most movable joint in the body after the mouth that has just quaffed a bottle of Dom Perignon/Johnny Black or stuffed itself with cake at yet another Party party. However, it is an unstable joint because of the range of thought is limited. It is easily subject to injury when gesticulating wildly to make a tjatjarag speech because the ball of the upper arm is larger than the brain that controls it. To remain stable, the shoulder must be anchored by its muscles, tendons, ligaments and a good dose of common sense. Some shoulder problems arise from the disruption of these soft tissues of the brain or from overuse of the mouth talking rubbish. Other problems arise from a degenerative process in which brain tissues break down and no longer function well.

Cure:  Shoulder problems should be isolated asap and the owner of it sent to Outer Siberia for a long recuperation. Finish and klaar.

(Apologies to Wikipedia)

Eish!  I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to do the Hairy Eyeball thingie!

My eyelashes are retreating. Or they're getting thin. Or I'm going bald around my eyes. Not sure which.

Or maybe it's because I hang out on the political forums on facebook too much.

Or maybe I need Maybelline.

Hairy Eyeball: 'A glance made with partially lowered eyelids. This usually indicates suspicion or hostility but may signal other emotions too.'