musings and thoughts....or thoughts or musings about the South African Farmers.

I have blogged in the Past about South Africa and the ongoing issues that the forced resettlement and seizures of the land belonging to the white minority.  They are paying for the sins of their ancestors and the people in charge are ignoring Nelson Mandela and his hope for reconciliation.  The present political leaders are stoking up the flames of racial animus for political gain.  I see South Africa turning into Rhodesia  Zimbabwe that used to be the breadbasket of Africa are having to import most of their foodstuff because the farms that were once run by the white settlers were seized by Robert Mugabe and his cronies that seized the land, but had no idea how to work it, so they stole everything off the land and left.  I have blogged about Rhodesia several times on my blog.

 I clipped this from the Daily Mail.UK   I have learned a long time ago, when you wanted to look for info, check out the foreign media, especially during the Obama administration because they didn't perform fellatio on Obama like the American media did.

White South Africans could be forced to give up their own homes from next year as the nation's government steamrolls through plans for land expropriation over claims 'Africa's original sin' must be reversed.

Land is a huge issue in South Africa where racial inequality remains entrenched more than two decades after the end of apartheid when millions of the black majority were dispossessed of their land by a white minority. 

The National Assembly agreed to the establishment of a committee that will draft an amendment to section 25 of the Constitution – a law which will allow the government to take homes from the people – and refuse to pay them compensation.

As many in the nation see the move as retribution for the 'original sin' when decades ago black people were driven off their land, it is believed white farmers will be driven from their homes immediately.

President Cyril Ramaphosa's suggested (above) expropriation laws are feared by farmers 

Cyril Ramaphosa has made land redistribution from white farmers to black disadvantaged citizens a flagship policy

Governing party The African National Congress (ANC) wants to amend the law so the government can take back land and distribute it.

However, critics say it is likely it will be handed off to their friends rather than dished out to those in need.

Last week the nations politicians fast tracked the set up of a committee which will write the legal change and present it next year. 

The motion was adopted with 183 MPs voting yes, 77 voting no and no abstentions in fiery scenes as South Africans battle over land reform.

In the same week, South Africa's High Court rejected a legal challenge brought by a group representing white farmers against President Cyril Ramaphosa's plans for land expropriation without compensation. 

Currently section 25 of the Constitution 'just and equitable' payment which reflects 'an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected' must be offered for land – but changes would abolish the need to compensate.

Economic Freedom Fighters politician Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi said those arguing against legalising land grabs are 'beneficiaries of racism'.

'Your time is up, white people,' She added.

The EFF will later put forward an amendment stating all land in private hands must be appropriated.

Democratic Alliance chief whip John Steenhuisen said the amendment is being pushed through without proper procedure.

'What it (the passing of the motion) also says, very clearly, to the people of South Africa is that regardless of their submissions, this bill is a fait accompli (already decided),' Steenhuisen said.

'This is madness. The message it sends to the people of South Africa is 'we don't care what you say'.'

MP Sibusiso Mncwabe supported the adoption of the motion: 'Let's continue giving this Christmas gift (expropriation without compensation) to our people.'

Democratic Alliance Chief Whip John Steenhuisen has said process is not being followed 

Farmers could be kicked off of their own land by the government who will redistribute it

The Joint Constitutional Review Committee's report recommended that section 25 of the Constitution be amended 'so as to address the historic wrongs caused by the arbitrary dispossession of land'.

The report also recommended that the Constitutional Amendment Bill be tabled, processed and passed before the end of the Fifth Parliament, which will rise before next year's election, presumably in March or April.

However, experts said it is not likely to happen if proper processes are followed.

The motion gives the committee a deadline of March 31, 2019, to complete its work.

ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu says the nationalisation of land presents a risk that could see those in power giving land away to their friends and cronies.

In some places the wheels are already in motion.

A city outside Johannesburg is preparing what the mayor calls a 'test case' over plans to take hundreds of acres of land from private owners, without paying for it in order to build low-cost housing.

Last month, Ekurhuleni's city council voted in favour of forging ahead with 'expropriation without compensation' - a legal tool that the ruling African National Congress says is necessary to provide land for disadvantaged black citizens. 

Ramaphosa handed over the title deeds of 4,586 hectares of land to Chief Inkosi Mandla Mkwanazi of the KwaMkwanazi community in Empangeni, near Durban. 

The KwaMkwanazi community was forcibly removed from their land more than 100 years ago following the enactment of the 1913 Land Act.

Like other South African cities, Ekurhuleni faces a dire housing crunch, with some 600,000 of its nearly 4 million people living in 'informal settlements' and a shortage of land to build homes.

Executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mzwandile Masina, who heads the local ANC-led coalition, echoed the president, saying landowners in South Africa don't need to be 'scared'.

He added: 'Our policy is not to take the land by force. Our policy is to make sure the land is shared amongst those that need it.' 

Ekurhuleni plans to expropriate about 865 acres (350 hectares) of land in the city limits, both private and government-owned, that has been vacant for decades and develop it to relieve pressure in vast tracts of ramshackle dwellings. The mayor did not identify the landowners.

Rebel Safety Briefing on the Ice Planet of Hoth

I shamelessly clipped this from "Angry Staff Officer", I have used his stuff before on my blog, he likes to use Star Wars to make either a humorous point or to drive a lesson home involving Army doctrine and he uses "Star Wars" as a great training aid.  My friend Mack has has actually met the guy and according to Mack, the guy is very angry, LOL.  I remember some of my "Safety Briefings" when I was in the service and they can be distilled into the following...."Don't drink and drive, don't add to the population...don't subtract from the population and don't do dumb stuff like fight the polizei."

Scene: Squad bay, Rebel Alliance, Hoth. The First Sergeant stands up:
“Okay, listen up, quiet down. I said quiet down, you lot! Louder than a Bantha breeding barn in here. Just because we’re Rebels doesn’t mean we can’t have discipline. Now, because of recent…incidents around Echo Base, we’ve been directed to give a good safety brief. As you may know, Commander Skywalker is currently in MedBay because he, uh, got a little bit off course, and, uh, kinda got a bit frozen. Don’t think I don’t hear your giggles going on about officers and land navigation, Sergeant Hollis, cut that right out. Anyways, thanks to Captain Solo, Commander Skywalker is alive.
But that being said, we’ve got a pretty damn bad spot here on this blasted ball of ice, so let’s go over a few safety pointers. We don’t want to get lax out here, it’s already hard enough to live with these damn Imperials hunting us. So – remember what I always say, one troop down is one less blaster on the firing line.
Alright, so, let’s begin right here in the maintenance bays, we’ve got snow speeders, X-Wings, and all sort of flying crap all over the place. One of those could easily fall down and squash ya, so watch your step. Want to be careful around the droids as well – no telling when one of those old buckets of bolts is gonna flare up and explode, and you don’t want to be around for that mess. Not saying that maintenance company isn’t doing their PMCS, but better safe than sorry.
Okay, and speaking of hazards inside the building – well, you may have noticed that Captain Solo and our own Princess Organa have been having, uh, discussions in the hallways around here that get fairly…shouty. So, if you get caught in their wake as they’re…talking…energetically, we’ll just call it – well, just stay out of the way. We’ll all be happier that way.

It was never comfortable to be a trooper going about their duties to be caught in between these two quarreling/flirting. (Lucasfilm Ltd)

Now then, operating in the cold means we’ve got to layer up when we go out. Patrols shouldn’t be out in the elements too long. Shouldn’t be longer than ten minutes between stations – take shelter at a turret, stay inside the trenches, get out of the wind. Keep the exposure down and maybe we’ll actually have a few troops left alive to fight this thing out on this frozen hell-hole.

“Trooper, stop complaining about the cold, you were just bitching the other day about Tatooine.”
(Lucasfilm Ltd)

Ok, so, for mounted patrols – we want to avoid wampa caves, those are bad. Ensure that you’ve got working comms – that means testing them before you go on patrol, remember.  Check in with Major Farr’s S-6 section for daily COMSEC, otherwise you’re only going to be talking to yourself. And patrols will be done with a minimum of two troopers each; yes, I know, squad leaders, you don’t have enough troops on hand because I keep stealing them for KP duty and blaster inventories. You can curse me out later, but both I and Lieutenant Alder from the scout platoon are in agreement on this one.
Right, so: if you get trapped in the elements on your tauntaun, well – don’t, because the cold will kill you both. But, if you do, you can use your own tauntaun as a heat source. Yeah, I know, it’s loathesome and smelly, but it’s better than being dead. Make sure you’ve got a knife on you to cut open the belly so you can use the heat inside your mount. Don’t look at me like that, I know it’s bad. This info is courtesy of Captain Solo, who swore heavily at the pilots who picked them up and said he’d shoot the first person that put a tauntaun near him again.

A counseling from Captain Solo usually came in the form of swearing, blaster-waving, or statements about whether or not he would see you in hell. He would. (Lucasfilm Ltd)

Right, so, we’ve covered typical accidents here in the bays, cold exposure, what to do if you get lost, and how to survive in cold weather. Before I let you go, we’ve got one last thing to cover: weapons discipline. I swear to the Force that if one other person flags me with their blaster one more time, I’m putting this whole company on sentry tower duty for a week. Stop running around with your damn worthless fingers in the trigger wells, you know these things don’t have safeties. Last week someone from 1st Platoon – one of yours, Corporal Blin – nearly put two holes in Captain Solo’s freighter – and if you know Captain Solo, you know that if that trooper had hit the Falcon, then Captain Solo would’ve put two holes in him or her. So. Weapons held at the low ready, finger only on the trigger when firing, only point the thing at something you want to kill. Back to basics, everyone, I really don’t want Sergeant Major Callum poking around the company anymore than he needs to.
Any questions? Good. Get back to your duties, I’m going to go talk to Captain Valdez to see if he can talk to Colone Firest to coordinate for some air cover on our flanks in case this thing goes hot. They’d be idiots not to bring in some flyboys in X-Wings to pot some Imperial tincans should they be dumb enough to make a landing. Of course, if they don’t give us some air support, then you all need to be keeping up with your physical fitness because you all know as well as I do that light infantry can’t do much against enemy armor other than offer nice targets. So, be speedy targets that get away. Dismissed!”

Monday Music "The Rain" by Oran "Juice Jones"

I remembered this song when it hit in 1986, I was stationed in Germany at Cooke Barracks with a brigade of the the famed 1st Infantry Division (FWD), they had the 2 other brigades in Riley.  Well I remembered this song and it was different with a bit of what I call "Payback", to all the guys myself included that either caught the girl running around or got the "Dear John" letter because "Jodi" was nosing around this song was epic.  Even now it is a bit haunting as the singer with sadness in his voice recalls catching his girl "Holding Hands in the Rain... and my life will never be the same."
     The song was a "one hit wonder" for the artist but it was a good one hit wonder.

Juice is the debut album by Oran "Juice" Jones. It was released in 1986 through Def Jam Recordings and was the first R&B album the famed label ever released. The album was a modest success, peaking at 44 on the Billboard 200 and 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, but the album's lead single "The Rain" garnered the most success, making it to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it was eventually certified gold on October 7, 1991.

"The Rain" is a 1986 crossover hit single originally performed by R&B singer Oran "Juice" Jones, which he released on and from his debut album Juice.
The song's lyrics include a long recitation at the end; written by Vincent Bell, who also composed the music, they involve a man confronting his girlfriend regarding her infidelity.

The single was Jones's biggest hit. It reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart for two weeks, making it the first #1 R&B hit issued by the then newly created Def Jam record label. The single also peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached #4 on the UK Singles Chart.
"The Rain" was nominated for two Grammy Awards, but Jones never had another Hot 100 hit and left the music business after his third album failed to chart. "The Rain" is ranked #63 on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '80s. During the show, Jones was asked about his one-hit wonder status. His reply was: "Oran 'Juice' Jones, he came, he saw, he conquered, he moved on. You dig?"

Some goings on at Casa De Garabaldi and a couple of musings...

As those of you know that read my little corner of the internet, I went to a scouting event last week, I had gone to banquet and I gotten an award and I was surprised to get something because I don't do what I do for rewards, especially with Boy Scouts.

I and my son had come back from that event late and I wasn't feeling good so I went to work on Sunday then as soon as I came home Sunday evening, went straight to bed, that is why "Monday Music" wasn't up.  And since I work 12 hour days per my schedule I couldn't get anything up until Wednesday.  I like blogging but I like sleeping more.  

 Difference between Silverstars and the LED

A couple of weeks ago I replaced my headlights on my F150, well my luck ran true to form, the drivers side burned out 2 weeks after I switched them.  I handled the bulbs with gloves to leave no residue.  Well after pricing the cost of new Silverstars at $64 bucks at Advance, I decided to see what Amazon had and while I was looking I saw the price for LED headlights at $29.99 and I figured I would give it a chance, well I ordered them, and then decided go ahead and replace the side marker lights while I was in that area.

It is a bit brighter than the Silverstars are, the light pattern is a bit different, I don't have to use High beam very much,  And it is a plug in into the factory harness.

It does look different, all told the combined Modification cost me $112ish...

We also had our run off election last week, and I did my part as a responsible citizen of the republic and voted.

People have died to give me a voice in the functions of government.  I want all the legal votes to count.  As long as people believe that they have a say, they will forgo violence.  When people start believing that the elections are being stolen usually by the democrats, then they will quit participating in the safety valve known as "Voting".   I am concerned, the elections shouldn't have been as close as it was, the democrats pulled out all the stops to "Find more ballots" that just happen to support their candidates.   They don't realize the damage they are doing to the body politic in their quest to win power at all cost.

    You know the "psycho girlfriend" meme..the one you see on Facebook and twitter,you know the one.....has been replaced...by a newcomer that has been a hit with the democratic socialist, marxist, commie Pinko, left wing of the democratic party...Apparently having one of "your pets" turn on you and kick you out of office despite you being "woke" enough to survive 10 terms is quite a feat and shocking to the now defeated 10 term democratic congresscritter from New York, but the newcomer is of Puerto-rican descent and she parlayed her demographic and her ability to peddle snake oil speak in the latest group-speak of the young democrats.

  Her Meme's are very popular because they show her ignorance, but she was able to defeat a 10 term congresscritter and that isn't an easy thing.  People underestimate her because of her ditziness, but underestimate her at your own risk,  She represents a large swath of demographics that believe like she does and are just as educated.  The people on the right ridicule her but I also remember the ridicule Trump got from the left and his base stood with him and it was a badge of honor for him and his base of deplorables.   It will be the same for her, underestimate her at your risk.  She has a lot of support like Soros and other big money liberals and she is very personable and her logic makes sense to her base who view her as the up and coming star of the democratic party.  I can see her running for President in a few years....Hell it worked for Obama and she isn't as arrogant as he is.
     We got the Christmas decorations up, and I drafted the kid to help with the decorations and he was thrilled like a root canal but I told him "I don't want to do this either but it needs to be done so suck it up and deal with it."  And he didn't complain and actually helped me do it.

5 things about Pearl Harbor that wasn't commonly known.

I loaded this into my scheduler thingie back in August, and I really liked the different historical stuff on this post, I learned a lot with this one...Some of the things I already knew, but some of the stuff was new to me.

USS Arizona burning after the attack

A lot is known about the attack on Pearl Harbor, but how much is true and what has become twisted over the years? The war that followed the attack led to frenzy and panic, causing inaccurate information to spread at a rapid pace.
This inaccurate information led to myths about the attack, but what is the truth? Here are five of those myths and their realities.

A widely believed myth is that Pearl Harbor was the only target hit by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. While Pearl Harbor has become the best-known target, it was only one of 6 targets. The Japanese also attacked Guam, Wake Island, Midway, Thailand, and Malaya that day.

The U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Northampton (CA-26) under attack off Wake by a Japanese seaplane.

Pearl Harbor was a single part of a larger campaign by the Japanese to control the Pacific. This was a campaign which was successful throughout the following year. Only Pearl Harbor and Midway would not fall to the Japanese during the war.
The reason this has become a widely believed myth is the fact that Pearl Harbor was the most crippling of the attacks. It also resulted in the most American losses that day, which brought the war home to most people.

Japanese planes attack Midway.

 

This is another widely believed myth that states the country was caught off guard by the attack and had no prior knowledge that one would occur. While there was no way to know the date of an attack, the government was aware that an attack by the Japanese was likely to happen.

Photograph of Battleship Row taken from a Japanese plane at the beginning of the attack

The rising tension in the region and the increased aggression by the Japanese made this hard to miss. Accordingly, the War Department had already been analyzing intercepted cables between the Japanese Embassy in Washington and Tokyo.
These cables led officials to believe that an attack would happen, with the initial date plotted as November 30. A warning of a possible attack on the islands was placed in a Hawaii newspaper.

Front page of Hawaii Tribune-Herald about a possible Japanese strike somewhere in Asia or the South Pacific, dated 30 November 1941. Fair use

While these warnings can be seen as general and a routine part of wartime, they do show that the government was aware that an attack could take place. Of course, the fact that a Japanese armada was able to travel between Japan and Hawaii undetected does lend some credibility to this myth.

U.S. propaganda poster calling for revenge for the Pearl Harbor attack.

The internment of Japanese-Americans is well known and leads many to believe that they were the only ones detained after Pearl Harbor. Within 48 hours of the attack, more than 1,000 people were detained by the FBI as enemy aliens.
This included a large number of Japanese-Americans, but also included people of Italian and German descent. Over the course of the war, approximately 120,000 people would be placed in internment camps.

Heart Mountain Relocation Center, January 10, 1943

While the majority were Japanese-American, other descendants from Axis powers were also affected. Approximately 11,000 German residents were interned, and an estimated 600,000 people of Italian descent were kept under restrictions.
This myth grew to its standing today because of the harsher treatment the Japanese-Americans faced. The 110,000 Japanese-Americans living along the West Coast were forced into internment camps, but most of the descendants from other Axis powers were able to continue living in a manner similar to their lives before the war.

The baggage of Japanese Americans from the west coast, at a makeshift reception center located at a racetrack.

 

The idea that the US government and military responded to the devastating attack quickly and decisively is a popular one, but it is a myth. In the months after the attack, the US suffered multiple defeats in the Pacific region.
This myth may have started when a rumor spread through the country on December 8 that the Navy was in pursuit of the Japanese fleet. The notion of pursuit was false, and General Douglas MacArthur was pleading for more naval assistance.

The U.S.S. Neosho, navy oil tanker, cautiously backs away from her berth (right center) in a successful effort to escape the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

In reality, a telegram was sent to President Roosevelt asking for assistance and submarines to target Japanese vessels. This request was unanswered and is believed to have led to the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese.
The first major offensive by the US occurred in February 1942. This was when the US Pacific fleet started attacks on the Marshall and Gilbert islands. Before these attacks, the last successful engagement by the US had occurred before Pearl Harbor.

An SBD Dauntless flies patrol over USS Washington and USS Lexington during the Gilbert and Marshall islands campaign.  My sources identify the ships as the Washington and the Lexington,   The battleship does look like a North Carolina class Battleship but the carrier don't match the profile of the Lexington.  Looks more like a "Yorktown" class carrier to me

The most common myth is that the attack on Pearl Harbor propelled the US into WWII and turned the tide on the Axis powers. A closer look shows that this is not quite true. Before Pearl Harbor, America was largely isolationist and was unwilling to become embroiled in another European war.
Archivists found that after the attack, a declaration of war was drafted against Japan, Italy, and Germany. President Roosevelt was to deliver this to Congress on December 8, but it was scrapped and replaced with a declaration against Japan.

President Roosevelt, wearing a black armband, signs the Declaration of War on Japan on December 8, 1941.

 

Thus the US was propelled only into the Pacific war as a result of Pearl Harbor–not WWII.
Americans only became involved in the European war on December 11. This was the date when Italy and Germany declared war on the US, and Roosevelt had to respond in kind.