How Chinese in South Africa became Black

This is a quote taken from a 2008 article in South China Morning Post.

How Chinese in Africa fought to be Black

"For decades they were the non-people: ethnic Chinese South Africans who were excluded from the privileges of white society under apartheid, but for whom democracy meant they were now too white to win compensation for years of discrimination.

A recent landmark court ruling has changed all that. Chinese citizens who lived under apartheid will be legally recognised as black, a decision that will potentially give the tiny community access to billions of dollars in state contracts and a place in front of the queue for jobs.

The Pretoria High Court ruled on June 18 that the 10,000 Chinese South Africans had suffered discrimination under white rule, which ended in 1994, and were therefore entitled to the same affirmative-action policies designed to fast-track blacks into the higher ranks of the economy.

'I wanted to right the wrongs of the past,' says Patrick Chong, chairman of the Chinese Association of South Africa, the organisation that sought the legal action. 'It's important to me that people realise that Chinese people were very much part of the oppressed during the apartheid years. We were not part of the oppressors.'

The ruling will not affect the estimated 100,000 Chinese who have moved to the country since 1994.

The Donald Trump Armageddon

As a teenager, USA seemed an impossible dream. It was the home of the “The Jackson 5” and “Osmond Brothers”. By then we knew the streets of London were not paved with gold; US was the new El Dorado. The reality has never kept pace with the dream…but it prevails.

Nothing I knew of America has prepared me for the depth of depravity on show during the current election. It also reveals a lot about human nature in general. Racism and bigotry is alive, well and once again very visible. The veil of   shame and political correctness which has dampened this in recent decades have been lifted.

The USA is the uncontested leader of the free world; and yet it is within a month of having a President who speaks with pride of grabbing the genitals of women and relishing the fact that his social status allows him to do so with impunity.

The ease with which Trump slipped into foul-mouth vulgarity in the presence of the media was a window into his arrogance and perception of invincibility.  It is inconceivable that people who have worked or associated with him in his business and on his campaign were unaware of this failure in his character. It seems that wealth conquers all.

If he wins his status will be greatly inflated, his power infinite. Can the world trust a man who has shown his willingness to abuse power and take advantage of the vulnerable with even more power?

Are Americans prepared to wake up on November 9th and at best find themselves the laughing stock of the world? 

But this is not only an American problem; it is a problem for us all…particularly women. 

The President of the USA is the foremost leader of the world. Where he goes others follow. 

ISIS, Black Live Matter, Policemen and Martin Luther King

Please do not get me wrong…I do not in any way, shape or form advocate violence unless it was to save me or some of my loved one’s lives. I am quite sure that if I heard the Russians were coming, I would try to swim to Cuba; a land nearby which I think the Russians would be less likely to attack. I cannot swim, but would try.

That said, it seems that the media and government is sending mixed messages to black people. People riled up by others who look like themselves getting shot are told to protest peacefully since the contrary is not right, it is not good for the cause.

Well look how well that had worked for Martin Luther King!

And if what they are saying is the truth; why is Obama not being asked to have a peaceful chat with ISIS rather than a war on terrorism. Based on our leader’s example one might mistakenly conclude that the proper path for black men might be a war on policemen...and this would NOT do!

Sunrise over the Blue Mountain Peak, Jamaica

Jamaica is very mountainous; its highest and longest range is the Blue Mountains. The British were not very creative or original; either that or they longed for home and so the same old familiar names were applied across the empire.  The peak is 2256 m (7402 ft) above sea level and from there it is said that you can spy Cuba, 90 miles away, on a clear day. So far, my visits have not coincided with a clear day so I cannot testify to this.

While there, I was prudent and do like the locals do; climbing at night so I cannot tell you much about the trip up. Our guide, who must be an owl, since he was able to get us to the summit in the pitch darkness. He claimed that at the end of slavery the slave took to the mountains because Germans had been brought in to settle the free lands on the plain. It did not take many to do this since there had not been much flat land and the little that existed was planted with sugar cane. The plantation owners thought the slaves would soon come to their senses and return since they were sure that the slave would not survive on the mountain. That did not happen and so Chinese and Indians were brought in to work on the plantations. 

Russia, the Olympics and Hacking

Humans and animals act in their own interest…but for the self-destructive few. Vladimir Putin is sufficiently long in the tooth to have already self-destruct if such was his inclination.

A hacking and posting of American Olympic athlete’s medical records so soon after the Olympics using “Russian tools” points directly at Russia and does not increase its chance of returning to sports.

So, what is the benefit to Russia?

This, on the heels of the Colin Powell and DNC hullabaloo, is not to Putin’s gain.

Who gains?

Mother and Child

I was born when my mother was 26 years old. I was in my early teens before doing the maths; it was 6 months before I was born. Well that placed in perspective all the morality lectures and the obsession with the possibility of my pending unplanned pregnancy.

As a child, everyone thought I looked exactly like her. Well, she was very dark-skinned and I light; she thirty-six and I ten; the resemblance was lost on me.

Now I reluctantly face the mirror each morning to the sad realization that they were right.

As the years go by, I realize that it is not only physical, but we both have weak knees, poor eye-sight and hypertension.

It is with great anxiety that I track her appearance and health since it seems it is to be my future.

So far, there has been no unplanned pregnancy and the likelihood of such would take place in history alongside the virgin-birth.

A response to “Please spare our dad' — Buju's kids appeal to judge” Jamaica Observer – June 12, 2011

Jamaica Observer

Buju Banton (Mark Anthony Myrie) lawyers and his loyal fans did him a grave disservice. From beginning to end, they got it wrong. Buju lost touch with reality and thought this would go away like all his previous brushes with the law. We had our eyes so firmly fixed on the gays that we lost sight of where the ball truly rolled.

This is what should have been done. We needed to have catch-up with Oprah and get her to rope in her on-again, off-again friend, Dr Phil. First Buju should have bawled loudly; his face buried into Oprah’s once again ample bosom. He should have tearfully revealed the ills of his childhood; we all have those. His parent and teachers had flogged him mercilessly. He had been bullied and beaten by the other kids in his impoverished ghetto, had not gotten toys for Christmas and had never visited Disney World. Throw in a missing and sadistic father. Oprah will have them so enthralled they won’t question the sadism in abstention. By then, Oprah would have also been in tears, and we know the world hear Oprah’s cry and weep with her. He would next apologise for any hurt he might have caused the gays and explained that he uses drugs to dull his pains. As he continued to sob and Oprah to coo, Dr Phil would have explained the Genesis of his pain, his lack of self-esteem and need for approval. Dr Phil would have concluded by offering him an Exodus from his misery. In the midst of his tears, Buju should have apologised for the shame he has brought upon his beloved Jamaican, his beautiful children and a truck load of women. He should have humbly accepts Dr Phil’s offer to lead him to the fulfilment of true potential.

Two months later, Buju could have reluctantly said bye bye to his new and equally famous friend at the gate of a luxurious California rehab centre. Two days later, Buju could have been back on stage belting out Boom Bye Bye.

Now, Congressman Weiner team got it spot-on, and he is off to rehab.