You know what hey, I have had so many conversations with mates about this topic and all the fucked up shit going on in this country. The sad thing is, which is the crux of every converse, is that we all love this country so much and in no way want to leave it or see it go down, which is clearly happening on a day to day basis. Its really upsetting walking around and thinking every now and then, shit, what if this, what if that, where will I go, what will I do etc? Its not rad walking around thinking like that and we are kind of forced to due to our fucked up government, media, politics, television etc.

But there are a few of us, well, I reckon, most of us that are prepared to stick it out, and just appreciate the beauty of the people, cultures and vibe that is south africa. Most of the generation today are going forward in a positive way, to initate change and growth because at the end of the day, none of us wants to see SA go down the tubes and I reckon we are going to grow, blossom and hopefully become a land of milk and honey

peaceout

The thing that does me in is that Zuma was, until relatively recently, a high-profile kinda guy - the suit, the bodyguards, the meetings with Men Of Capital (for example, Thint & Shaik a.k.a the Arms Deal buddies). Now, it seems, he's taken a new tack - with allegations of fraud in the air and a rather expensive court case stifling his aspirations of presidential succession, he's become a 'man of the people', a 'champion of the workers', in fact even getting well-publicised support from tripartite alliance partners COSATU and the SACP and not least the ANCYL's Fikile Mbalula just endorsed him as their presedential candidate. It would seem that now he needs the people to support him in order to embarass and harass the court system into throwing his case out. Have you seen the circus outside the courts when he shows up? You'd think the guy single-handedly demolished apartheid and has the support of the majority of the country's citizens. I say the man has a keen eye on publicity matters, or else he's got him some expensive spin-doctors. He's a slippery devil, I tellya, and he's not going down without a fight.

The force is strong with this one...

onyx> Hear Hear! :)

It's the old people that cause the problem. White bullies that are still so colonialist, and old black dudes that have a massive chip on their shoulders from 'the struggle'. They're just as bad and racist as each other. When they're all gone it'll be smooth sailing (holding thumbs)!

You know it as well as we all do. We either stay here and do something about it or we hightail it outta here and live elsewhere, which would suck hard especially when youve just established yourself in business and are moving forward at the speed of light.

Ol hedmekanik and I do a festival called FLUX which is aimed at the whole population, not just black or white or indian or coloured, so I feel we are doing our part to try and ease the tension. But then again apartheid was a fucked up idea in the first place and we gotta pay for that shit. BOLLOX I say, lets move forward and turn this place into a multicoloured nation that rocks. Give the motherfuckers jobs and they wont have to rob and steal.

Once again it comes down to the people in power doing something other than padding their pockets with our hard earned cash. Then again every nation has to have a fear to be controlled and ours isnt terrorists its fukin crime baby, yeah crime(coming from an ex criminal I know what Im talking about, BELIEVE)

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, BUT YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER... MWHAHAHAHAAAAA

The only way I see this country dramatically improving is if billions is poured into education ala Japan after WW2. That, and the government (for once) learns from the experience of the rest of the world and trashes OBE like a salad stand at an AIDS conference. Once people are properly educated, most other major problems (crime, hiv, easily manipulated masses) are improved as a by-product.

Unfortunately, a plan like that would only even begin to take fruition in 20+ years time, and who in government actually thinks that far ahead?

Your surnames not Turrel is is Justine cos you sound a bit like a friend of mine??? I agree that 2010 HAS YO BE USED as a weapon because if it isnt then the situation will not get any better. I myself have contemplated getting a gun but thats the last thing I want to do because these days that gun gets used on you after they have taken it off you. The police in SA are enforcing a law now that you can only own one firearm and it has to be re-registered with them, you have to go in and write an exam and shit and ass with like 60% to keep it, but the fukin criminals get bust with unliscenced guns that have numerous bodies chalked up on em and they get like 6 months to a year. FOR FUCK SAKES!!!

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, BUT YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER... MWHAHAHAHAAAAA

Howzit! No, that's not me. I grew up in Woodlands near Yellowood Park in Durban. Class of '94. I will be coming to Durbs in 2 weeks time for 6 weeks, so looking forward to my holiday and some warm weather!! I haven't been back in 2 years...so I've been hanging in there for ages just to be home again!

So it seems that the state was a bit hasty in their preparations of corruption charges against Umnumzane Zuma. Sharp as tacks when rifling through Bra Schabir's place, they neglected to unearth similarly incriminating documents at the Big Ndlovu's crib. Which is, according to a source close to the infestation, because they were kept at bay by veiled threats from political kingmakers. Tsk, tsk, you might say.
But, as much as JZ will be doing the Mshiniwami Shuffle to the rapturous applause of his supporters, the show isn't over yet. The state has now an option to reapply to have the case tried along the lines of Mr Shaik's, with JZ being slapped with an order to provide the state with all documentation relating to the matter at hand.
What documents? Oh, those ones...the dog ate them. Three years ago.

The force is strong with this one...

I WISH he'd make his own damn political party. It would be the best test of this democracy yet...

Wouldnt get to far i reckon...

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, BUT YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER... MWHAHAHAHAAAAA

There's been a noticeable gravity between Zuma and Cosatu in the last couple weeks; at yesterday's Cosatu powow the delegates erupted in jubilation when the news about JZ's case came down the line. Zwelinzima Vavi had his hands full trying to calm the crowd down.
And the SACP and Cosatu have been getting no love from Thabo, whom they accuse of centralising goverment in order to consolidate his 'clique's own agenda. the tripartite alliance is the shakiest it's ever been, and the bulk of those who vote ANC are not card-carrying members of the ANC itself, but consist of card-carrying members of Cosatu and the SACP, which means workers. Workers who aren't too happy about the percieved self-enrichment of the WaBenzi.
So be careful there, what you wish may be just round the corner.

The force is strong with this one...

Glad someone else follows national news closely!

The SACP and Cosatu have every reason to be angry, in my opinion. ANC has not done a sterling job in dealing with poverty and job creation.

I don't think that Zuma would win the election under a new party, but it would make things very interesting indeed.

It all comes down to December 2007 when ANC elects their new president! Who do you think they'll elect, hedmekanik?

And will the NPA re-charge Zuma?

Exciting times.

I think that dropping the case entirely would make for a lot of eggfaced government, who are after all the NPA's bosses. That said, they know they're sitting on a powder keg with this whole song and dance routine. Personally I reckon they will go ahead with new charges.
The choice of a successor is still a bit murky, and the ANC themselves have come out with conflicting statements, saying that any leader is voted in by the National Executive, who in turn take their tips from the electorate, or that there is no succession debate because the party will go with whoever represents the best choice in terms of upholding the party's beliefs and values. There is no clear frontrunner at this stage, although current Secretary General Kgalema Motlante's name has been in the news lately. One thing's for sure, whoever it is has to have a combination of Mandela's charisma and Mbeki's business sense. Anything less would cause the rifts in the party to degenerate into a split, which is unthinkable at this stage but may be unavoidable unless the candidate can unify the party faithful.
Tough job, that.

The force is strong with this one...

Maybe...who knows, could become even more popular.

Hey I've heard of that - what is it, like a pasta or something? They should just change the ingredients to something more prison-like - maybe samp and beans?

Yip, was an item last time i checked, he was quite the regular there. Maybe it should be Samp a la Empangeni Cellblock?

Pretty bleak for the o to have to do some hard time huh? Whats the story now with JZ? He has gotta be charged again and shit right?

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” Nelson Mandela

A sad day...

Shock at death of young restaurateur

November 20 2006 at 10:58AM

By Nobantu Kumalo

Spiga d'Oro, the restaurant favoured by some of Durban's top businessmen - including jailed fraudster Schabir Shaik - has been temporarily closed after the death of its charismatic co-owner, Luca Santoniccolo.

Floral tributes, children's drawings and messages of condolence continue to be left outside the restaurant for Santoniccolo, who was killed in a car accident on Northway Drive, Durban North, early on Saturday morning.

Twenty-four-year-old Santoniccolo was in the car with friend Chris Mugnai, who was hospitalised with serious injuries. The driver of the other vehicle also died on scene, while Mugnai was moved from Addington Hospital's ICU unit and remains in a serious yet stable condition.

Speaking on behalf of the family, distraught brother Marco Santoniccolo said the restaurant would be closed until the day after the funeral, which is expected to be announced later this week.

Marco, who is also a co-owner of the family's restaurant, refused to comment except to describe his younger brother as a friend and business partner.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said Santoniccolo and the female driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident died instantly.

"Due to severity of the injuries sustained, both drivers died on the scene," said Botha.

Since the announcement of Santoniccolo's death, the restaurant has been flooded with flowers from well wishers.

By Sunday afternoon, the number of bouquets had grown substantially and covered most of the pavement outside the restaurant.

Some patrons were unaware of Santoniccolo's death and were shocked to find the restaurant's doors closed.

"He was a very likable character. It's a shame when someone dies so young," said Simi Kandezi, a regular at Spiga d'Oro.

source: http://www.iol.co.za/

Shaik has spicy dish named after him

October 10 2004 at 04:07PM

If there is one place where embattled businessman Schabir Shaik has appeared more often than in the media, it's at Spiga D'Oro, a popular Italian restaurant in Durban's Florida Road.

In fact, Shaik is such a fixture that a dish, the Linguine ala Shaik, has been named after him. With a sauce of plum tomatoes, chilli and garlic, the dish suggests that Shaik, who will be sweating it out in court over the next few months, isn't averse to fiery encounters at the dinner table.

"He was always telling us to add a bit of chilli here, a bit of ginger there. Eventually we made a dish especially for him and he loved it and ordered it over and over again," said proprietor Luca Santoniccolo.

Shaik confesses to eating at Spiga D'Oro three to four times a week, and returns because "it's very relaxed".

"As you can see it's largely ordinary people who come here, no bourgeoisie come here," said Shaik at a table last Wednesday.

Source:

KLIKTRAK
http://kliktrak.partychief.com

Shot for posting that article Rich... Just come from the hospital now and Chris is a lttle broken but ok. Unbelievable is the only word to describe such an accident. Chris was at my spot all Fri evening waiting for Luca to pull in so they could go out to supper. They left mine at about 9 and then the next news I got was this... We will be doing a memorial concert in the park across the road from Spiga soon... Farewell to a good friend and a Legend at that...

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” Nelson Mandela

Visiting Luca at Spiga's was always one of my highlights when visiting home. He will be sorely missed.

Some people are like a Slinky.....not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.

That is horrible. I'm in shock. He was even a member of this humble site. RIP

He sure was and loved it at that. Is there any way we can post a memorial page for the brah???

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your
enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” Nelson Mandela

Can you pls set it up, capdog?

Some people are like a Slinky.....not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.

Will sort it out asap and mail it to you aaaaait...

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” Nelson Mandela

Does anyone know what actually happened that night? I heard a lot of people were blaming the woman coming the opposite way, but on paper the guy going home after a night out at a club doesn't compare favourably with the early-rising woman on her way to work.

Heard the rumors, but I don't know the details I'm afraid... :(

Details are details, shit went down and two people died. Yes Luca and Chris were on their way back from the jol but they were not pissed, maybe a little on. The accident happened on the white line and no one can tell us who was in the wrong. Irrespective of who's fault it was, they are both no longer with us. The family issued a press release claiming responsability for the accident so lets leave it there. Must be the hardest thing to ever do for a family as tight as the Santoniccolo's.

“If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” Nelson Mandela

I didn't realise that the Santoniccolo's had claimed responsibility. The only article I found concerned rumours that the woman had had a heart-attack which I figured was both unlikely and a little unfair. I can't help but think that if the roles were reversed and it was Luca Santoniccola driving that road to work in the morning, with the woman coming home "a little on", she would have been vilified from the rooftops, albeit posthumously. Anyway, full respect to the Santoniccolo family for doing that.