Powerful ensemble
WE HAVE the Hlaudi Motsoeneng Houdini act; the Gupta Lassoo Artists; the Strategic Fuel Reserve Follies; and Corruption Capers – all of it set to song and dance and punctuated by the Nkandla Giggle.
It's a powerful entertainment ensemble, yet we still seem to lag behind the US. There, likely Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has stolen the limelight from us by saying a judge with a Latino name cannot preside impartially over a case involving his (Trump's) interests because he's "a Mexican".
It's caused the dickens of a row, only partly because the judge concerned was born and bred in Indiana and has worked most of his career there and in California, some of it as a prosecutor against Mexican drug gangs.
Over to the New Yorker: "Unless the US builds a wall, Mexicans will swarm across the border, enroll in law school en masse, and eventually become biased judges, Donald J Trump warned supporters.
"At a rally in San Jose, the presumptive Republican nominee said that 'making America great again' meant preventing the nation from becoming 'overrun by Mexican judges'."
Trump said he had heard about the threat of incoming Mexican judges first-hand from border-patrol agents.
"'They see hundreds of these Mexicans, and they're coming across the border with Law School Admission Test prep books,' he said. 'It's a disgrace'.
"In a line that drew a rousing ovation from supporters, Trump blasted Mexican leaders for their role in the crisis, claiming: 'They're sending us their worst people - lawyers.'"
This is, of course, satirist Andy Borowitz beavering away. But he's no shortage of material. Much like here on the southern tip of Africa.
Cash outflow
MONEY has been pouring out of the UK at a rate of 
a minute (R6.8 billion) since the referendum began on whether Britain should leave the EU. The total outflow a couple of days ago stood at £65 billion.
It's caused a hoo-ha. Sky News went down to the London Stock Exchange to chat to a broker. This gent was ultra-cool.
It was nothing to worry about, probably just a technicality, people converting sterling into other currencies for totally unrelated reasons, he said.
"You must follow the money, not the noise. In the Scottish referendum you needed to follow the bookies, not the opinion surveys. There was absolutely no chance the Scots were going to vote for independence."
The same with Britain and the EU, he said. Why the fuss?
When I make my next million, that cool gent gets my business.
Curiosities
SOME curiosities of the English language and the typing keyboard.:
· Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.
· Lollipop is the longest word typed with your right hand.
· No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
· Dreamt is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
· The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" .uses every letter of the alphabet. (That's the first thing we wordsmiths ever typed).
· The words "racecar," "kayak" and "level" are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
· There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. (Although the phraseology of army drill sergeants often ends in "dous").
· There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious.'
· Typewriter is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
Clip this out. Astound your friends. Win beers with bets in bars.
| Tailpiece PADDY and Mick are looking at a mail order catalogue illustrated with lovely models. Paddy: "Have you seen de beautiful girls in dis catalogue?" Three weeks later, Mick asks: "Did you ever get dat girl you ordered from de catalogue?" "Any day now. Only yesterday, her clothes arrived in de post."
Last word I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.
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