GNU (pronounced
noo) or Wildebeest are antelopes of the genus Connochaetes and native to
Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes
true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed horned ungulates. Wikipedia.
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| Gnu Picture Wikipedia |
GNU a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix!", chosen because GNU's design is Unix-like, but differs from Unix by being free software and containing no Unix code. Wikipedia. (Recursive acronym. Hmm.)
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| Unix watch out! Picture Wikipedia |
GNU as of June, the Government of National Unity proposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the African National Congress (ANC).
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| Zapiro's take on the gnu GNU |
As the old joke goes, a camel is a horse designed by a committee. The new joke is that a gnu is a cow designed by Cyril Ramaphosa.
At the end of May, South Africa joined India, France, UK, US
etc. etc.by holding a national election in 2024. The result was something of a
surprise and so was the GNU. Basically the ANC, which has received a
comfortable majority in every previous national election, plummeted to around
40% of the vote and almost all its losses went to MK, the party created this
year by the previous president Jacob Zuma (around 15%). The Democratic Alliance
(DA), a business and West-friendly party, maintained its support and added a
little to finish at around 22%. No other party broke 10% but they still obtained
a smattering of seats due to our proportional representation system. Almost
immediately, Ramaphosa invited them all to join a government of national unity,
claiming that the electorate had mandated all parties to work together. Since
such an idea had never been mooted by any of the parties before, and certainly
not by the ANC, this seemed a bit of a stretch but the idea was welcomed by
almost everyone. (Perhaps all gnus is good gnus?) However, some had conditions. Zuma’s new party said it would be in if Ramaphosa stood down. That
didn’t go down at all well. Some smaller parties agreed to join provided the DA
was excluded. Ramaphosa stuck to his guns, and eventually obtained his deal
with the DA and several of the small parties. The far left (or is it far right –
politics is something of a circle after all) under the leadership of Zuma and
Malema form the opposition.
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| Picture Wikipedia |
It's now up to Ramaphosa to make his strange cow actually work. When the gnu are on the move, they migrate across rivers filled with huge crocodile. If it wants to get anywhere, the GNU will have to do the same and survive. Still, the local currency has strengthened, the stock market is up, and there is a spirit of optimism last felt when Ramaphosa first became president. The DA walked away with three absolutely key ministries. This is make-or-break for the party and the country. They have to get these right. They are Agriculture, Home Affairs, and Education. Of course, to fit in all these extra ministers and deputy ministers, some expansion had to be allowed...
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| Zapiro's take on the new ministers... |
Personally, I wish the GNU all the lorry loads of luck it needs and hope it can turn around at least some of the decline that seems to have become the norm in South Africa. Hopefully, the above joke will be replaced by a gnu being a race horse designed by Ramaphosa…
In the meanwhile, let’s all relax about politics and listen
to the delightful Flanders and Swann team introduce the (original) GNU.
Posts
From AA: all digits and eyes crossed, hoping for the success of the GNU. If it is any encouragement, I can offer this: That lucky day when I saw the animals cross the river in the Great Migration, I noticed that the Zebras were very careful, went down to the water’s edge and gently began to swim. The gnus, in contrast, did what they are doing in the photo above. They got into position and leapt. I loved watching them. There were crocodiles. One animal was attacked and we later saw it dying. It was a Zebra. The bold wildebeests all survived.
ReplyDeleteHopeful the GNU will be a Wildebeest and not a Zebra!
DeleteWe are voting today. Hopefully the country will go slightly left to get back to the middle. And I don't pronounce Gnu correctly. I say Gin Noo. Is this acceptable?
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me! Cheers!
DeleteAll credit to you for extending that pun so broadly. ... and when I first started reading your piece, I immediately thought of the Flanders and Swann song ("a gnother gnu"). My family used to laugh/sing along with it when I was little. Also, thanks for the more serious summary of the election results. :-)
ReplyDeleteOf course, I can't get the song out of my head at the moment! Hopefully the blog will exorcise it...
DeleteYears ago, I learned that I could 'erase' ear-worms by singing (out loud or just in my head) a ballad that doesn't have a particularly 'catchy' tune (i.e., it doesn't become an ear-worm) but to which I know the words. Every time you catch yourself singing/humming the ear-worm, start singing that ballad from start to finish. At this point in my life, I'm CERTAIN that I've sung "The City of New Orleans" FAR more times than Arlo Guthrie ever did. :-)
DeleteThanks, Everett. Now all I have to do is learn "The City of New Orleans".
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