News that has you spoiling your ballot

Most South Africans are hardy people. We don't let limited resources get us down.

It's a mystery that pres. Cyril Ramaphosa does not use his natural warmth and friendliness to make himself appear more approachable as a leader. Almost everyone who comes into contact with him in person is struck by the same charisma and sense of humour. Here he is with a group of journalists outside a hotel, apparently with his wife on the phone.

Motivational speaker Doccie Shields ended up with an Afrikaans family as a Zulu orphan and grew up as a boerseun. He says he doesn't have a natural taste for traditional food...

Declining art of the political cartoon

Tuesday. The big day in the United States of A. By all indications Kamala and The Don are neck and neck. Here's what some cartoonists think.

Joke explodes in his face

Conservative political commentator Ryan Girdusky was kicked off  CNN's Newsnight with Abby Phillip and banned from the network after he suggested that British-African and Muslim commentator Mehdi Hassan was sympathetic to Hezbollah. As the two debated whether Hassan's pro-Palestinian views could be interpreted as anti-Semitic, Girdusky suddenly said, “Well, I hope your beeper doesn't go off," an unambiguous reference to the Israeli attack on Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon by blowing up their pagers.

The argument above actually started as a discussion about “roast" comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's controversial performance at a Trump rally, where he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage", among other things. Hinchcliffe found support from an unexpected corner – the ultra-liberal comedian Jon Stewart, who came out to bat for hyperbolic humour.

The last political word goes to Robby Roadsteamer, an activist/comedian, who pokes fun at conservative politicians and commentators at their own press conferences or rallies. Here he takes Steve Bannon on. Remember him?

Humans know how to stuff it up

One can hardly claim that we are now tumbling from the sublime (above), because politics is always vulgar, but we are certainly tumbling towards the absurd. I understand that readers who are against the mere thought of taxidermy and all that goes with it will protest, but these photos are simply too funny not to share. I stand with Jon Stewart here. The Facebook group it came from, Badly Stuffed Animals, has unfortunately been dormant since 2013. Or fortunately. Hard to say.

Lekker old Advert!

Speaking of absurd. Fortunately, every now and then there is a creative director at an advertising agency whose marbles are still lost or haven't been found yet.

And finally, one or two for the road

You might trust someone in his twenties with a multimillion-dollar racing machine that can go almost 400 km/h to race around a track as fast as he can. But is he going to show the maturity to walk past and not slap his mate on the balls during a television interview?

This particular lad, Ferrari-man Carlos Sainz, won the Mexikaanse Grand Prix on the same day.

Always be careful when buying a generation-appropriate gift.

Old, yet still Gold

One should revisit Robert Altman's 1970 movie M.A.S.H. at least once every five years. If you value laughter. Here is a little excerpt.

♦ VWB ♦

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