26 Comments

1. 

   nicky on 17th September 2017 at 6:49 pm

   57-0 is humiliating, and historical too (as you point out). I do not agree that the Bokke played very well, the All Blacks outplayed them in all facets of the game. Definitely a much better team, different class.

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     nicky on 19th September 2017 at 7:11 am

     I mean, the Boks dominated for about 20 minutes, but could not convert that in points on the scoreboard. Against a team like the All Blacks that is unforgivable. At half-time, the score was 31-0. The match was basically over by then. You do not recover from that, not against a team lke the All Blacks, even a red card would not have done the trick, I’d think.
     I agree that that try you showed is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen.
     There great problems with the Boks. I think Etzebeth is not the best captain, in fact his Stormers teammate Xolisi is his captain there, and a better one. Of course Whiteley is out of action.
     Hougaard is not what one would want in a scrumhalf, way to slow in his decisions, not international standard, immo. And
     that is just two of several.
     Their defense was lousy, you do not just wait until your opponents come, you go in. etc. etc.
     The All Blacks were close to flawless in their relentlessness.

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       Heather Hastie on 22nd September 2017 at 11:26 am

       The Springboks defence wasn’t up to their usual standard, which was the biggest problem I think. They missed dozens of tackles, and you can’t do that with the All Blacks. A good half-back does make a big difference too, as you say. You can see the difference in the All Blacks when Aaron Smith is on, and when he isn’t.

       It was a good performance by the All Blacks too, with just about everyone wanting to prove they were better than the previous week, and that made it harder for the Boks too.

       One big thing about the ABs, which you alluded to, is they know how to score. Often they have less time in the opposition 22, but when they’re there, they score more often than not.

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2. 

   rickflick on 17th September 2017 at 11:57 pm

   Fun stuff!

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3. 

   nicky on 18th September 2017 at 3:56 am

   Yes, that water tweet is very good.
   I originate from a country with too much water, if anything, but it is good people realise that in our modern world safe drinking water is not necessarily a given. Fresh water is going to be a big problem in future. My own South Africa is among the 30 odd driest countries (and yes Oz is there too).
   Somalia is, of course a ‘basket case’, a disaster happening under our noses:
   Desert country, no government worthy of that name, lagging far behind in the demographic shift (= getting less children) and in many other things, several (muslim and/or criminal) militia all over the place, education levels close to 0. A basically Muslim medieval society even the Prophet would have despaired? (well, or not)…. Is there a worse place on Earth right now? I doubt it.

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4. 

   nicky on 18th September 2017 at 4:01 am

   Yes, religion is child abuse. And nobody to comfort him. Sick indeed.
   Is that a Shia ritual?

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5. 

   Lee Knuth on 18th September 2017 at 4:21 am

   The post of the boy being cut on the head was deeply disturbing. That truly is child abuse. Noticed it was attended by all men, typical of Islamic countries. Women have no say even on how their child is treated.

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6. 

   Jenny Haniver on 18th September 2017 at 4:23 am

   I want to let you know that when I go to your site using any computer, I notice that the URL shows up in the address bar, no prob; however, a few seconds later, it slides to the right and a ‘not secure’ notice appears to the left. I don’t know what’s causing this, or if others are getting this notice, but I want to alert you. It makes me very nervous.

   I knew about some of the bloody rites of Ashura, practiced by the Shia, but I didn’t know that they did this thing with cutting children’s heads (girls, too) — had to Google to find what religion it was and what was going on. I don’t know if you’ve posted or seen this unusual instance of an RC Confirmation rite, where the priest gives a slap to the cheek of the person confirmed. Here the priest was definitely overenthusiastic: “Priest smacks every kid in the head” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFhHwlWUo_s . It would be funny as a Three Stooges skit, except it isn’t and isn’t funny.

   I will miss the daily posts but understand. Hope all is well — as well as can be, that is. You have a lot of courage in your situation. It puts me to shame. I’m such a wuss.

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   • 

     Jenny Haniver on 18th September 2017 at 5:28 am

     Also, when I am on this site on any computer I use, and want to go straight to the comments, most of the time, the text jumps down there, then jumps up to the body of the post, so I must scroll down again to get the comments. Again, don’t know if others experience this.

     And re Aung San Suu Kyi, here’s a powerful indictment of her and her politics from the Nobel Laureate Jody Williams in an interview on the Canadian Broadcasting Co. http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.4289745 — part 2. It is good to hear her actual voice voice, hear her speaking about these things this way, unscripted, speaking from both the head and the heart. One can hear all kinds of things in her voice that are lost in writing, however passionate that may be.

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       Heather Hastie on 18th September 2017 at 9:27 am

       I’ll pass your comments on to the person who looks after the site. I don’t know what’s going on – I mostly don’t understand this stuff.

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     nicky on 18th September 2017 at 6:24 am

     Guessed it was Shia, they have this self flagellation thing and an obsession with blood . Sorry if I sound flippant there , but if imposed on children it is completely unacceptable in my (prejudiced?) books.

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7. 

   nicky on 18th September 2017 at 6:33 am

   Mr Tek is 100% , isn’t that what we are humans for, or what?

   I still think the little tigger in your ‘cat cuddle’ in your 15 september post is the champ of cuteness

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8. 

   nicky on 18th September 2017 at 6:45 am

   I’m sure I’ve seen that kitten pawning the dog (look at the dog’s face!) before, just don’t remember where…

   Santorini, aka Thyra, is probably the volcano that gave rise to the Atlantis myth. It exploded about 1600 BC and – apart from destroying Thyra (what you see now is just some remnants , cf Krakatoa)- must have caused a Tsunami that ravaged the Minoan civilisation on Crete.

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9. 

   Mark R. on 18th September 2017 at 6:46 am

   Thanks for my late morning entertainment and learnings. I didn’t know about enchroma glasses, cool! I hope Jerry Brown signs the bill…the west is the best. And WTF w/ the head cutting dudes? Child abuse indeed…the religious have some fucked up ways to fuck up their kids…esp. the Abrahamic variety.

   The water story was also provocative. I heard a different story once about walking miles for water. In some village in Afghanistan, the women would walk 4 hours every day to fetch water. There were some Americans stationed near by, and once they saw the hardship of obtaining water, they decided to help. They requisitioned the materials to build a small pipeline from the well to their village. They all seemed thankful etc., but when the soldiers visited a week or so later, the pipeline had been destroyed. They first thought that a neighboring tribe blew it up. Upon further inquiry, they discovered some of the women from the village blew it up. The women claimed those 4 hours of fetching water were the best time of their lives as they could get away from their husbands. I wonder how common this kind of behavior is in countries who abuse their women.

   Be well; I’ll miss the tweets, but you had quite the run. You deserve a twitter-break. 🙂

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10. 

    Federico Bär on 18th September 2017 at 2:43 pm

    I’m a bit sorry to hear Ergin Tek, the Turkish restaurant holder, saying that he did what “some other businesses in the neighborhood did not” (around 1:24), but that doesn’t change the fact that I have great respect for his attitude. Surely Donald Trump will have seen this video. Otherwise, I would gladly forward it to him, just like I did with the video of the outstanding All Black try, to my five rugby-loving grandsons….
    .-

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      Heather Hastie on 19th September 2017 at 5:08 am

      When I went to bed, Argentina was leading in their game against Australia 12-10. They looked a lot better too. I was hoping I would wake up the next day to a Pumas victory. Sadly, it was not the case. 🙁

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11. 

    nicky on 18th September 2017 at 5:04 pm

    As a child I read a book by Peter Freuchen about his life among the Inuit. He married an Inuit lady, Navarana, with whom he had two children. After her death, the mission refused to bury her in the churchyard because she was not baptized, so he buried her himself.
    I think that Dagmar Gale was his third (and last) wife.

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12. 

    Jenny Haniver on 18th September 2017 at 5:56 pm

    Since you and yr. readers enjoy beautiful architecture, here’s something I just happened on: the 10 most beautiful ceilings in the world, according to the BBC http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160317-the-10-most-beautiful-ceilings-in-the-world

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      Heather Hastie on 19th September 2017 at 5:10 am

      Cheers “Jenny”!

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13. 

    Federico Bär on 18th September 2017 at 11:54 pm

    First of all Heather, I wish you well, and a speedy return to your more pleasant and rewarding activities!

    Regarding the report on sexual assault in the latter, we see the same “old boys'” mutual protection that exists in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy. Must we therefore conclude that there are not enough good-willing officers and priests worrying about their own reputation?
    .-

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      Heather Hastie on 19th September 2017 at 5:30 am

      There’s a lot of peer pressure put on people to think of the damage that would be done to the Church by going public. (It’s not just the Catholic Church either.) It used to be, and probably still is in some places in other professions too like medicine, police etc. It’s supposedly all about public confidence.

      I remember a priest in Northern Ireland who was an IRA killer in the 1970s. When it was discovered he was quietly moved to a parish in south-west Ireland to live out his days. It wasn’t discovered what he’d done until after he died. The Church had enough of a grip on enough people including police, journalists etc that they were able to keep it quiet “for the greater good of the Church.” Disgusting.

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14. 

    Federico Bär on 19th September 2017 at 12:27 am

    First of all Heather, I wish you well, and a speedy return to your more pleasant and rewarding activities!

    Regarding the report on sexual assault in the latter, we see the same “old boys'” mutual protection that exists in the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy. Must we therefore conclude that there are not enough good-willing officers and priests worrying about their own reputation?

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15. 

    Federico Bär on 19th September 2017 at 12:30 am

    Sorry for the involuntary repeated posting!

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16. 

    Federico Bär on 19th September 2017 at 2:15 pm

    “Peer pressure” is the term I was looking for, thank you! It expresses exactly what I was trying to describe clumsily as “old boys'” protection! This is not about just the Catholic Church, right you are!
    All the best in what you have to do now.
    .-

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17. 

    Miss Ironfist on 23rd September 2017 at 8:10 pm

    After I read the first paragraph, I had to stop to do a Haka = )

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    • 

      Heather Hastie on 24th September 2017 at 8:47 am

      😀

      Reply

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