Word: springbok
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...world leaders have celebrities they admire; from Sarkozy with Johnny Hallyday, to Obama with Willie Mays and Mandela with his Springbok rugby stars, they have dined and congratulated their heroes, often with a civic purpose attached—but not always—in a fashion expected of leaders of nations and leaders of culture. Chavez, however, takes this to levels of absurdity that Sarkozy could not match even with his marriage to Italian pop icon Carla Bruni. Chavez meets with specifically outspoken supporters of himself. With Chavez, the situation is not the mutual respect of respected, recognized individual?...
...Africans feel about the arrival in Cape Town of Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon to shoot a Clint Eastwood movie about South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup victory over the New Zealand All Blacks. It's not that Freeman (playing President Nelson Mandela) or Damon (who stars as Springbok captain Francois Pienaar) will do a bad job. South African actors Vosloo (The Mummy) and Chweneyagae (the Oscar-winning Tsotsi) wouldn't either. It's just a little strange that South Africa's most important stories are so often told by foreigners. "Imagine how the Americans would feel...
...Springbok tour comments were a sign of political naïvety, then that's all right too, says Frank Williams, who owns an agricultural contracting and cartage business in Cambridge in the Waikato region of the North Island. "Helen Clark is a fantastic politician. You can never take that away from her," says Williams. "She's very good at the political game. But maybe we've had enough of that." Key's learning fast, though - or perhaps his memory's good. Asked in the debate what it meant to be rich, Clark waffled, while Key sounded genuine talking about...
...government's commitment to racial quotas has unraveled rapidly since the World Cup final on October 20. Back home, the Springboks' winning coach, Jake White, bluntly told reporters that South Africa's racial politics were driving him out of the country. White is largely credited for creating a near-flawless World Cup team, and is in talks to become England's national rugby coach. In addition to White, two star Springbok players have already signed large contracts with French teams...
...Adoring Springbok fans have called talk shows to express their fears that their stars would all bolt from the country and leave South Africa with little hope for future wins. A few weeks ago, government officials dropped a decision to bar Springbok players from playing future international tournaments if they played for local teams overseas. As the political arguments have grown more heated, one South African rugby blogger wrote wistfully this week: "We knew it was too good to last! The feel-good atmosphere in SA Rugby after the Boks' World Cup triumph did not even make...