Sure, cigarettes cost a lot more than usual: from R1.50 to up to R7.00 per ciggie – and up to R140 for a pack of 20. (US$1.00 = about ZAR17.00 – so about US$8 per pack of 20.)
While the ban on alcohol will ease at Level 3 (next week), the ban on ciggies will continue.
Musician David Scott, of The Kiffness, protests the ciggie ban via one song with two versions of the South African national anthems: African and Afrikaans.
Not everyone seeing this video will “get” the lyrics that will make multicultural South Africans smile, here’s a brief translation:
- Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, currently Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, former wife of former president Jacob Zuma, stepmother(?) to Duduzane Zuma, entrepreneur, comrade-in-arms with Jacob, his father, and reported cigarette merchant.
- Rizla: papers for rolling “zol”
- “zol” – “dagga” or marijuana cigarettes.
This is a satirical piece, and is not necessarily based on fact. The views expressed in this song are my own. I have the right to freedom of expression. In addition, if any deaf people watching this video are offended by my "sign language", please know that I have nothing but love & respect for the complexity and skill that comes with your language. I often watch the sign language during these political speeches and am always impressed by how quickly the interpreters are able to sign what the President is saying. I hope it's clear have no idea what I'm doing, and the idea is for the audience to laugh at me, not at you. I hope you understand that that is part of the satire & the video's in no way made to make a mockery of your language.After enjoying this video, I researched The Kiffness. I’m delighted to discover how David Scott uses lockdown as an opportunity to create and share his lockdown experience.
Check out his YouTube channel for more laughs and scroll to section Lockdown Parodies to view.
News blues…
On March 27, the first day of the lockdown, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded SA’s international long-term credit rating from Baa3 to Ba1, a subinvestment grade. This meant, according to all three credit rating agencies - Moody’s, Fitch and Standard and Poor’s (S&P) - the country’s international credit rating was below investment grade, aka junk status. The outlook looked grim.Then, the easing of lockdown regulations with some countries starting to reopen their economies has provided a welcome boost.
The rand strengthened as much as 5.2 percent last week and continued its rally, opening at R17.57/$ on Monday morning. It strengthened to as much as R17.53/$ before trading at R17.67 by late afternoon.
The rand has been the second-worst performing currency after the Brazilian Real, having weakened more than 20 percent for the year to date. Just weeks ago, analysts were predicting the currency would test the R20/$ mark, as they anticipated large capital outflows as much as $14 billion on the back of the rand falling out of the World Government Bond Index, due downgrade to junk status.
This has not yet happened.
On the contrary, appetite for SA portfolio assets has not died down… Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop noted that she expects the rand to strengthen further this year, possibly to R16 against the greenback, and even further into 2021
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Latest Daily Maverick webinar, "The Upside of Down: How chaos and uncertainty breed opportunity in SA." Daily Maverick’s Stephen Grootes goes behind the scenes with financial journalist, talk show host and author Bruce Whitfield to discuss how problem-solvers thrive in tumultuous times, how your mindset can define your future and other topics covered in Whitfield’s latest book, The Upside of Down. Webinar sponsored by book publisher Pan Macmillan.
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Michael Moore-produced documentary "Planet of the Humans" debuted on YouTube last month. Subsequently, it was condemned as inaccurate and misleading by some climate scientists and some activists. Now, it has been temporarily removed from YouTube in response to a copyright infringement claim by British environmental photographer, Toby Smith. Smith alleges the documentary includes a material used without his permission and that he does not approve of the context in which the clip is used.
No doubt Moore will respond to Smith and edit the movie.
Regarding the complaints by climate scientists and activists, I suggest you watch the movie when it is reposted on YouTube and decide for yourself. I watched about half of it in short bursts of time – due to Internet access, nothing to do with subject matter – and found it strikes at the heart of the climate controversy. Moore posits that there is no long term, quick fix…that big/corporate money is omnipresent, and that climate activists are jollying people along into believing all is quick-fixable while maintaining the usual western standards of life.
Moore suggests climate activists (350.org, etc,) are settling for wishy washy action and not preparing middle-of-the-road humans for what it will actually take for our planet to produce sustainable “green”/”renewable”/”environmentally adequate” energy.
Moore and his team may have violated fair usage rules. I don’t know. But I tend to agree with Moore that the movie’s science and activist critics pan the movie because of his unwillingness to toe the moderate “we-got-sustainable-energy-under-control” line.
There are no quick-fix panacea to our energy crises.
Solar helps. Wind helps. Hydro/wave helps. None is a solution.
We, the People must grasp our ongoing energy challenges and the depth of damage perpetrated by our dependence on fossil fuels. The sooner the better.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
A story to soothe the savage breast, or at least to alleviate the blues. South African stork falls in love with Croatian stork and finds a family.
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Microcosm weather woes. Last night, KZN temperature dropped to 1 degree Centigrade (33.8 F). California’s daytime temperature rose to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 C).
What’s the difference between climate and weather?
Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere (temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility, and wind) and its short-term variation in minutes to weeks.
Climate is the weather of a place averaged over a period of time, often 30 years.
(Donald Trump take note.)
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