An overwhelming news day

So, it's been a bit of an off day, and I attribute that, in part, to the news I heard during breakfast this morning. The broadcast included a horrific story of four boys killed in Soweto on their way home from school Monday when a drag-racing car plowed into them. The story is attracting more attention than it might otherwise (sadly, as road fatalities involving school kids are tragically common) because one of the drivers is a well-known hip hop star, and drugs and alcohol were reportedly involved. There was also a report of protesters blocking streets with bricks and debris as they made their demands for such basic services as toilets! Plus, there were updates on the two most prominent and controversial public figures in South Africa these days: President Zuma, who did not meet a public disclosure deadline and, by some accounts, is claiming exemption from that law, and Julius Malema, the ANC Youth League president, who is defiantly challenging his critics to arrest him if anyone can prove any wrongdoing against him. (He is accused of profiting from his post and of not having paid taxes). In both cases, the obfuscation is so convoluted and the rhetoric so heated that any "truth" or resolution feels quite elusive and unlikely.

And now, at the end of the day, besides a picture of Lance Armstrong preparing for Cape Town's big bike race this weekend, the newspaper has a shocking story about controversial remarks by Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (no stranger to controversy). A headline in one paper (above) attributes the comment "Madiba [Nelson Mandela's nickname] let us down" to her, and an article in another paper quotes her as saying that "He agreed to a bad deal for the blacks" (a legitimate claim, although it seems unfair to saddle Mandela with all the blame), that "Mandela is now a corporate foundation... [who] is wheeled out globally to collect the money and he is content doing that," and that she "cannot forgive him for going to receive the Nobel [Peace Prize in 1993] with his jailer De Klerk." She also apparently denounced the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a "charade" and called Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu a "cretin." This will certainly give all of us here plenty to talk about for the rest of the week!

Meanwhile, editorial cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, aka Zapiro, continues to wield his editorial pen with his characteristic incisiveness. I can't believe I've gone this long without posting - or at least linking to - any of his stuff! Click here more of his work.