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Showing posts from September, 2023

News24 | Mondli Makhanya: Rethink name change frenzy, make it make sense!

Most of those of us who live in Johannesburg, the splendid city that is recognised as God’s masterpiece, were not bothered about the identity of one William Nicol until a decision was taken to rename the street known by his name after the late Winnie Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/1HLTDKU via sinceretalk

News24 | No room for error as Boks aim to keep World Cup fate in hand against potential Tongan fairytale

The Springboks need a big win against Tonga at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday to ensure their Rugby World Cup fate remains in their own hands ahead of next week's Scotland/Ireland clash in Paris. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/Nqa6MJm via sinceretalk

News24 | OPINION | Strengthening migration management strategies can ease tension and promote social cohesion

Migration management strategies can enhance and sustain social cohesion if given adequate attention and priority by the South African government. This is because migration affects the economic, cultural, and social aspects of society write Lizzy Oluwatoyin Ofusori and Paul Kariuki. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/t6H0gfC via sinceretalk

News24 | Ebrahim Harvey | Pravin Gordhan's Transnet conundrum

Given the dire situation in Transnet right now, there are a wide range of questions about its future which must be addressed to the top leadership of the company and State Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, writes Ebrahim Harvey. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/LykIA03 via sinceretalk

News24 | Road Accident Fund move will cost medical schemes R500m a year, Discovery claims

The Road Accident Fund has stopped paying for the medical expenses of accident victims who had already received medical aid payouts. from News24 news24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/0Ka2uD7 via sinceretalk

'Erroneous' Fox News report claimed Arizona gov 'mysteriously disappeared.' She was in DC for a meeting

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On Thursday, September 28, Fox News reported that Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee would be serving as acting governor because of the "mysterious disappearance of Gov. Katie Hobbs." But according to Arizona Central , Fox News' report — which had been headlined "Arizona governor mysteriously steps down for one day" — was "erroneous." And there was no "mysterious disappearance." Hobbs, Arizona Central reports , was in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 27 "for a meeting about border issues with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas following a week-long visit to Taiwan, an important Arizona trade ally." POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? Arizona Central notes that Hobbs "flew back to Arizona" on September 28 to "meet with President Joe Biden." That day in Arizona, Biden was joined by GOP activist Cindy McCain — the late conservative Sen. John McCain's widow — before givi

News24 | Rands will always make sense when following the Boks at the World Cup

The Springboks found themselves a lovely rugby nest in Toulon and those who have been able to make their way there and follow them around for the Rugby World Cup, despite the cost, have been handsomely rewarded. from News24 news24/topstories/rss https://ift.tt/ZGltYXh via sinceretalk

'They need FEMA’s help': Dem details why GOP-led impeachment hearing was really 'that bad'

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During Thursday's episode of MSNBC's The Reid Out , United States Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) explained why the House Republicans' first impeachment hearing against President Joe Biden was such a "disaster" for the Republican lawmakers. Moskowitz emphasized, "This was an unmitigated disaster. It's a shame the Republicans are going to shut down the government, because they need FEMA's help. That's how bad it today was. They were not prepared. In the very first minute, their own witness — and I wasn't surprised, because it was in the testimony that was written — comes out and says, 'Everything you have been working on for the last eight months, everything that you have presented to the American people does not rise to the level of impeachment.' That's their own witness. It was awkward. It was just like, I started to feel kind of bad, like this is clearly what they didn't plan for Fox News today." Host Joy Reid

'Our national secrets': Dem slams GOP for ignoring Trump classified documents found in the toilet

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U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) blasted House Republicans for ignoring the hundreds of classified documents photographed on stage and “in the s——” at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and residence, while going after President Joe Biden who she said not one witness at Thursday’s impeachment “inquiry” had identified what crime he allegedly committed. “As I prepared,” Rep. Crockett told members of the House Oversight Committee Thursday, “I said, ‘What is the crime?’ Because when you’re talking about impeachment, you’re talking about high crimes and misdemeanors, and I can’t seem to find the crime and honestly, no one has testified of what crime they believe the President of the United States has committed.” “But when we started talking about things that look like evidence, they want to act like they blind, they don’t know what this is,” Crockett said, waving photographs of boxes allegedly containing classified and top secret documents on stage and in a restroom at Mar-a-Lago. RELAT

'When they repossess Mar-A-Lago': DeSantis fan accuses Kari Lake of lying about the FL gov at GOP debate

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Conservative and self-proclaimed journalist Chris Nelson , minutes before the second GOP debate Wednesday, September 27, engaged in a fiery back-and-forth with ex-Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate and election denier Kari Lake, The Daily Beast reports. "How are you going to run for Senate when you're already the governor?" Nelson shouted at the failed candidate. Since the 2022 gubernatorial election, Lake has continued to deny her loss to Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? According to the Beast , an "ardently pro-[Florida Governor] Ron Desantis 'journalist,'" Nelson also "yelled in Lake's direction" the questions, "Why do you lie about Ron DeSantis? Why do you lie about Ron DeSantis, Kari Lake?" The DeSantis fan then asked Lake, according to the report, "where she was going to live 'when they repossess Mar-A-Lago.'" Vanity Fair reports, earlie

News24 | Pollard is back! Boks don't expect 'perfect' return, trust flyhalf ace to ease through gears

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber doesn't expect Handre Pollard to shoot the lights out on his Test return, but hopes he'll be able to adapt swiftly to Test match rigours when he starts against Tonga on Sunday. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/0bxjP1C via sinceretalk

Trump mocks chances any other 2024 candidate becoming his running mate — during the GOP debate

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Donald Trump, again refusing to participate in a GOP debate, teased out the fate of every candidate on stage Wednesday night: He will choose none of them as his vice presidential running mate. The ex-president who is facing 91 felony charges in four criminal cases across three jurisdictions and is now also facing the dissolution of his business empire, brought up the running mate question around the same time the debate on Fox News was kicking off. "It's all over television, this speech," Trump falsely claimed, referring to his live remarks at a non-union shop one day after President Joe Biden stood on the picket line with UAW workers. READ MORE: ‘Apparently You’ll Never Believe Us’: House Republican Melts Down After Reporter Questions His ‘Evidence’ Against Biden "You know, we're competing with the job candidates," Trump said, mocking his fellow Republican presidential candidates after he scheduled an event opposite the debate he refused to attend.

Busted: Media network paid by GOP groups is behind deluge of election records requests

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In North Carolina, Local Labs wanted obscure voter records that would take weeks, or even months, to prepare. In Georgia, the company requested a copy of every envelope voters used to mail in their ballots. And in dozens of counties across the U.S., Local Labs asked for the address of every midterm voter. Local election offices across the country are struggling to manage a sharp rise in the number of public records requests, and extensive requests coming from Local Labs in at least five states have stymied election officials, according to a Votebeat review of hundreds of records requests, as well as interviews. The requests are broad and unclear, and the purpose for obtaining the records is often not fully explained, leaving officials wondering in some cases whether they can legally release the records. Local Labs is known for a massive network of websites that rely mainly on aggregation and automation, blasting out conservative-leaning hyper-local news under names such as the Old

Supreme Court could trigger hundreds of billions in corporate tax cuts 'with the stroke of pen'

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A Washington-based married couple's challenge to an obscure provision of the 2017 Republican tax law has the potential to become "the most important tax case in a century," with far-reaching implications for federal revenues, key social programs, and Congress' constitutional authority to impose levies on income. That's according to a new report released Wednesday by the Roosevelt Institute and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). The policy groups estimated that if the conservative-dominated U.S. Supreme Court sides with the plaintiffs in Moore v. United States —which the justices are set to take up in December—nearly 400 multinational corporations could collectively receive more than $270 billion in tax relief, further enriching behemoths such as Apple, Microsoft, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Google. The Roosevelt Institute and ITEP also found that Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito own stock in 19 companies

'You'll never believe us': GOPer melts down after reporter questions 'evidence' against Joe Biden

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Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) became defensive and accusatory after repeatedly being unable to answer a reporter's questions in a press conference Wednesday, held to announce what House Republicans claim is "evidence" against President Joe Biden. A shortened version of the video posted by the news organization Heartland Signal went viral, garnering nearly one million views in under three hours on the social media platform X. "Mr. Chairman, question about the timing of all of this," began an NBC News reporter identified by Mediaite as Ryan Nobles. "You're talking about a two-tiered system of justice. If I'm not mistaken, on August 7, 2020 Bill Barr was the attorney general and Donald Trump was the president, so explain to me where the two-tiered system of justice comes into play. And then the WhatsApp message you have, I believe, is dated June 6, 2017. Joe Biden is not vice president or even a candidate for president at

News24 | Weekend flooding triggered by 'cut-off low', says meteorologist

The weather system or cut-off low that occurred this past weekend is not unusual for springtime, but on average, one in 11 escalates into flooding, according to a meteorologist. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/5Y3LWuU via sinceretalk

News24 | As SA faces its deadliest bird flu outbreak ever, two European vaccines could arrive in months

SA's poultry sector will have two imported vaccines from the European Union in use within the next two to six months as it battles the country's worst ever bird flu outbreak, says the industry's top representative body. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/JcC32zi via sinceretalk

'Civilian thugs': How Trump’s 'politics of fear' works to 'change the perception of violence'

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During Tuesday's episode of MSNBC's All in with Chris Hayes, New York University professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat explained how ex-President Donald Trump has normalized violence through "the politics of fear." Hayes pointed out, "If you go after powerful people, right, in a liberal and open society, there's it's all sorts of things that you might risk, right? You might have career issues — there's reputational issues, maybe you'll sued for defamation. There's a bunch of things that are all within the boundaries of a liberal democracy and open society. The thought that you will be hurt, or the people that you love will be hurt, that is a different kind of thing, and this is what the New York Times says: 'The FBI has seen the number of threats against its personel and facilities surge since its agents carried out the unauthorized search at Mar-a-Lago, has subsequently created a special unit to deal with the threats. The U.S. officials said threat

'Seinfeld shutdown': Analyst explains why House Republicans won’t 'get what they want'

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The Bulwark Editor-in-Chief Charlie Sykes, during a Tuesday interview with MSNBC host Joy Reid, insisted that House Republicans will are not going to get anywhere with the potential government shut down expected within the coming days. "What is this shutdown about?" Sykes said. "The executive vice president of The Chamber of Commerce, a Republican-leaning organization, says he's thinking of this like 'The Seinfeld shutdown,' because it's 'the shutdown about nothing.' There's no end game. They're not going to get what they want. At a certain point, this is, for people like [U.S. Rep.] Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the fight is about the fight. Keeping it going. The more chaos he creates, the better it is for him, no matter how much damage he does to the country. And you're seeing what Kevin McCarthy is willing to do. I mean, Kevin McCarthy is willing — his speakership hangs by a thread from Mar-a-Lago. He knows what Donald Trump can do with him

Trump committed fraud and deceived banks while growing his real estate empire: report

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Donald Trump committed fraud, deceived banks, and inflated the value of his real estate holdings a judge said Tuesday, granting New York Attorney General Letitia James partial summary judgment in her civil case against the ex-president. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron “has ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House,” The Associated Press reports. Judge Engoron “found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.” “The decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse,” The AP adds. Attorney General James “is seeking $250 million in penalti

'No footnotes or citations': Critics warn book exposing Murdoch family drama can’t be trusted

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Critics are alleging that author Michael Wolff's upcoming book The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty , detailing the right-wing network's recently resigned Chairman Rupert Murdoch's behind-the-scenes family drama, can't be trusted , The Daily Beast Editor-at-Large Lachlan Cartwright reports. "You can't trust anything he writes because … he needs headlines, because headlines mean more money," Cartwright reports a publishing insider told the Beast's Confider. The Beast reported earlier this month that in the "juicy tell-all" book, filled with "at-times absurd anecdotes," offers a "behind-the-curtains look into Fox's handling of the Dominion defamation lawsuit over its 2020 election lies, its post-election clashes with former President Donald Trump, its shocking firing of Carlson, and the Murdoch family’s Succession -like turmoil." POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? Cartwright rep

Lawsuit alleges Sean Hannity and Fox News 'conspired with' Boebert to 'defame' political activist: report

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Months after North Carolina activist David Wheeler hit United States Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) with a defamation lawsuit over allegedly making "multiple false claims about him and" his super PAC American Muckrakers, Fox News and host Sean Hannity will be "added as defendants," News From The States reports. "They conspired with Lauren Boebert to defame me," Wheeler said Monday, according to the report. "I repeatedly asked to go on their news shows to discuss the allegations she was making against us and was either ignored or told 'no' over and over again while she continued to go on their shows bashing me." Per the report, "His complaint, in U.S. District Court of Colorado, alleges Boebert made 'maliciously false statements' about Wheeler and American Muckrakers on multiple occasions last summer, particularly during broadcasts of Hannity’s Fox News shows and on radio. Fox personality Tomi Lahren is also single

Trump appears to think Jeb Bush was president: 'He got us into the Middle East'

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During a rally in South Carolina on Monday, Donald Trump appeared to confuse former Florida GOP Governor Jeb Bush with his brother, former President George W. Bush, while bragging to supporters how he beat him. Jeb Bush, who was largely considered to be the default Republican Party nominee for the 2016 presidential election when he launched his campaign, dropped out in February of 2016 after the South Carolina primary. “When I come here, everyone thought Bush was going to win,” Trump said, before claiming he was “up by about 50 points” over Bush. “They thought Bush because Bush was supposedly a military person.” POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? “You know what he was…He got us into the Middle East,” Trump claimed, wrongly. “How did that work out?” “But they also thought that Bush might win. Jeb. Remember Jeb? He used the word ‘Jeb,’ he didn’t use the word ‘Bush,’ I said, ‘You mean he’s ashamed of the last name?’ and then they immediately started using the name

Fulton County judge in Trump case orders jurors’ identities and images must be protected

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The Fulton County Superior Court judge presiding over Georgia’s RICO, conspiracy, and election interference case against Donald Trump on Monday afternoon ordered the identities and images of all jurors and prospective jurors to remain secret, ordering they may only be referred to by a number. “No person shall videotape, photograph, draw in a realistic or otherwise identifiable manner, or otherwise record images, statements, or conversations of jurors/prospective jurors in any manner” that would violate a Superior Court rule, Judge Scott McAfee ordered, “except that the jury foreperson’s announcement of the verdict or questions to the judge may be audio recorded.” “Jurors or prospective jurors shall be identified by number only in court filings or in open court,” he added. READ MORE: ‘Careening’ Toward ‘Risk of Political Violence’: Experts Sound Alarm After Trump Floats Executing His Former General Judge McAfee also ordered no juror’s or prospective juror’s identity, “including na

'Extremely dangerous': Ex-federal prosecutors call out 'unprecedented' attacks by Jordan, Trump and GOP

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Former federal prosecutors are worried about the "extremely dangerous" risks to the United States justice system and principle of prosecutorial independence posed by attacks on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and other prosecutors by ex-President Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and other House GOP allies, The Guardian reports. "Historically, congressional committees have assiduously honored the bedrock independence necessary for the execution of the criminal prosecutorial function," ex-United States Department of Justice fraud section acting chief Paul Pelletier t old the news outlet . "It's particularly rich here where Congressman Jordan, who callously refused to honor a lawful congressional subpoena, now seeks to investigate the motives of a duly elected prosecutor." The Guardian notes Jordan not only announced a probe on Willis, who indicted Trump and 18 others on racketeering charges for their efforts to overturn the 2020

News24 | Focus on kicking, but Boks failed by chances wasted on Ireland's famous day in Paris

The focus on the Springboks' goal-kicking was rightful in their 13-8 loss against Ireland in Paris on Saturday, but also wasted scoring chances in a game of narrow margins. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/4PdslGm via sinceretalk

News24 | Mondli Makhanya | With Mkhwebane’s fall, one of the last of Zuma’s worst of the worst is gone

Around about this time seven years ago, a colleague went off to do the mandatory first interview with the then newly minted Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/kVv8GB7 via sinceretalk

News24 | Boks concede battle of kicking wills to lose epic World Cup battle to Ireland

In a game of narrow margins, the Springboks let themselves down with indifferent goalkicking to concede a 13-8 loss to Ireland at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday. from News24 news24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/VGDRHYX via sinceretalk

News24 | FIRST TAKE | Springboks crying out for reliable kicker after World Cup wake-up call

It was the heavyweight contest of Rugby World Cup 2023 so far, and the devastation for South African fans is that the Springboks came out on the wrong side of it. from News24 news24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/mskGPp1 via sinceretalk

News24 | OPINION | Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster: A generation without access to clean drinking water

The SAHRC report released this week into KZN's water crisis reveals we are sitting on yet another Eskom-like time bomb, writes Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/dc14p26 via sinceretalk

'Smoke and mirrors': Ex-US attorney slams Trump lawyers’ 'honest mistake' in $250M fraud case

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During Friday's episode of MSNBC's Deadline: White House , host Nicolle Wallace spoke to ex-U.S. Attorney Harry Litman about ex-President Donald Trump's lawyers' lies about the size Trump's Manhattan penthouse at the Trump Tower in New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million fraud case against him, "making up the existence of 20,000 square feet that inflated the value of his property by more than $200 million in that instance alone," according to The Daily Beast. The Beast reports : At Friday's hearing, state attorneys presented testimony from the Trump Organization's disgraced chief financial officer, convicted tax cheat Allen Weisselberg, who admitted that the penthouse size listed on official business documents was totally fake. The judge raised the possibility that this total fabrication was an 'honest mistake,' but then quoted Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, who served on the Supreme Court in the early 1900s. 'Ev

News24 | Four SANDF members killed in service vehicle incident

Four South African National Defence Force members died on Wednesday after an incident involving two service vehicles. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/Xi1WOh4 via sinceretalk

'Total breakdown': Experts warn 'Republicans can’t govern' as House sends members home

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Nine days before an increasingly-likely shutdown of the federal government of the United States, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has effectively adjourned the House for the rest of the week, with GOP leadership telling members they may go home and come back next week, after a procedural vote to fund the Dept. of Defense failed for the second time this week. Fox News’ Chad Pergram reports , “Note that the House has not officially dismissed everyone.. but everyone expects they are done for the week. Why? They House lacks the VOTES TO ADJOURN.” He later added that “Things are very fluid,” and “there could be votes TOMORROW or this weekend still in the house. This could be a problem if some members already got on flights.” POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? Fox News online is reporting, “House abruptly cancels votes for the week without spending deal after series of defeats for GOP leaders,” and notes members are not expected back until Tuesday. McCarthy this week has rep

News24 | 'Back in the 80s': SA in crisis, but energy investment drive could rival gold rush, says JP Landman

SA is in a crisis reminiscent of the late 1980s, but investments in energy transition and load shedding solutions over the next decade could yet rival the growth explosion created by the discovery of gold and diamonds. from News24 news24/topstories/rss https://ift.tt/dSYqXor via sinceretalk

News24 | 'Strap on, because we're coming!': Former Boks back Rassie's 7/1 bench split as Ireland awaits

The Springboks' seven-one bench split for Saturday's Rugby World Cup clash against Ireland has shocked all and sundry, but three former players are understanding of the Bok management's thinking. from News24 news24/topstories/rss https://ift.tt/1xEMH4a via sinceretalk

'No vision': Disillusioned GOP consultant believes 'anger' has overtaken 'ideas' among conservatives

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As the founder and president of Dyce Communications — a GOP consulting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina — Alfredo Rodriguez III has been involved in conservative politics for a long time. But in an op-ed published by North Carolina's Herald-Sun on September 20, Rodriguez makes it clear that he is feeling very disillusioned with the GOP — which he believes has lost its way. "In the simplest of terms," Rodriguez argues , "conservatism used to represent the ideals and principles encouraging personal freedom and responsibility, Judeo-Christian morals, innovation and entrepreneurship, American sovereignty, defense of our nation and its citizens, and democracy over totalitarianism." POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? Rodriguez goes on to stress that the GOP's "values" of the past "have been corrupted and abandoned in many instances." "Today, anger about everything, immovable thinking and rationale, conspir