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Merged Nelson Mandela Ceremony Sign Language Interpreter a 'Fake'

I would like to see a legitimate signer in the same screen signing the same speech.
 
I would like to see a legitimate signer in the same screen signing the same speech.

The South African broadcasting company showed its own signer in a corner of the screen during the telecast. What she was doing corresponded roughly zero to the impostor's gestures. Note that she is sometimes finger-spelling proper names.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9UkNfVLqdo
 
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Maybe the signer is deaf himself and had no idea what anyone was saying!

Event organizer to interpreter agency: "I asked for a signer for the deaf, not a deaf signer!"
 
The South African broadcasting company showed its own signer in a corner of the screen during the telecast. What she was doing corresponded roughly zero to the impostor's gestures. Note that she is sometimes finger-spelling proper names.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9UkNfVLqdo
.
Golly, she runs off at the hands, dun't she? ;)
That's what I expect to see with such a person.
The guy just has a few stock gestures that he uses over and over.
 
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Golly, she runs off at the hands, dun't she? ;)
That's what I expect to see with such a person.
The guy just has a few stock gestures that he uses over and over.

Another big clue should have been that he was apparently on stage by himself for four hours. Typically at a long event, two or more signers will spell each other periodically. It's exhausting work. A legitimate contractor would have said "We can't have just one guy up there all day." Signing at the event was also an honor that a legitimate employer would have tried to share among his best people.
 
What I want to know is why the NIA did not pick up that Obama was giving his speech standing next to a lunatic fake artist.
Too busy looking for the next Snowdon perhaps?

I'd definitely rather have them hunting Snowdon's than con-artist sign language interpreters.

It's not the CIA's job to protect the president from this sort of thing, it's the Secret Service's job.

Maybe they were busy not paying their hookers again.

I laughed. :D
 
This guy has been charged with rape, murder, and kidnapping.

One day after Thamsanqa Jantjie, the interpreter, told reporters he was hallucinating during the ceremony, South Africa's eNCA reported that—over the past 20 years—Jantjie has been charged with murder, rape, theft, and kidnapping.
 
The ANC government hired him at R800/day.

It's not what you know, it's who you know.
Really? An online currency converter tells me that is about EUR 56. In the Netherlands, sign language interpreters get paid that per hour, from social security. The good ones may negotiate a higher rate for commercial occasions.

The deputy minister has been on TV trying to spin the issue.
That is shameful. "Some people understand him". It would be funny if it wasn't such a disservice to the deaf community. I don't buy for a second his schizophrenic shtick. He simply is a fraud who prevaricates on the people hiring him not being able to judge his abilities and the target audience too shy to complain.

The other day, I had a job as a speech-to-text reporter at a function where also a sign interpreter was hired. His client, him and me had a good laugh asking for each other's credentials. :)
 
According to reports the rate for a qualified signer is about R1,200/hr. There is evidence that complaints about this Janties were made to government after he did some work for the state last year. These complaints fell on deaf ears apparently.
 
According to reports the rate for a qualified signer is about R1,200/hr. There is evidence that complaints about this Janties were made to government after he did some work for the state last year. These complaints fell on deaf ears apparently.

What I read was that the other function was an ANC function, not a government function. But that, indeed, that the association of the deaf in SA made a very extensive report on how what Jantjies did was not signing.

Either way, it is entirely possible that another (government/ANC) agency hired him and did not know about the complaint. Still, it leaves me puzzled how it was not checked at all that he was certified. Is there no (online) register of accredited sign interpreters in SA?
 
What I read was that the other function was an ANC function, not a government function. Is there no (online) register of accredited sign interpreters in SA?

As the ANC has the majority in Parliament, the ANC is IMO government.

All qualified signers are accredited in SA but as to whether there is an online register, I have not looked.

I doubt whether any ANC official would have looked either as it normally assigns positions and opportunities to cadres regardless of their competency, qualification or criminal record.
 
As the ANC has the majority in Parliament, the ANC is IMO government.
As long as SA is not a one-party state like the Soviet Union, which had a double hierarchy of party and government just for formality, I'd like to make the distinction. :)

All qualified signers are accredited in SA but as to whether there is an online register, I have not looked.
I tried to look but didn't find one.

I doubt whether any ANC official would have looked either as it normally assigns positions and opportunities to cadres regardless of their competency, qualification or criminal record.
I think there are two issues which make it hard to put it just off as a charge of nepotism. First, the reported very low rate. Nepotism usually involves overcharging, not undercharging with a factor of 6. Secondly, the fact that Jantjies was not hired directly but through an agency, which has now suddenly vanished off the face of the earth. That means that primarily, the agency has committed the fraud by not checking the certification of its subcontractor/employee.
 
As the ANC makes the claim of owning Mandela, I can not see them assigning any part of Mandelas funeral and memorial to any of the opposition parties.

As for the amount paid to Jantjies, the R800 is what was reported.
Who knows for sure what the deal was.

The ANC is making a big deal of who commissioned Jantjies but that may just be a smokescreen.

The ANC has also said that they intend to identify those who booed Zuma at the FNB stadium for naming and shaming.(and whatever else they deem neccessary)

The general consensus in SA at the moment is that the ANC is morally bankrupt and not fit for governing this country.

http://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/struggle-leaders-open-letter-to-zuma-resign.htm

http://kmmr.bookslive.co.za/blog/2013/12/04/justice-malala-the-anc-is-compromised-it-is-lost/

I hope that this consensus prevails in next years elections.

ETA In case you miss the link to the full article of Malala http://www.dispatch.co.za/opinion/anc-no-longer-has-leaders-but-zombies-who-follow/
 
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This guy has been charged with rape, murder, and kidnapping.

Well, to be fair, there is no record of the trial ever having taken place; so we don't know if the charges were dropped or he was acquitted or he was convicted or he was judged mentally incompetent (as he was for a previous felony).

But even without the murder charges, there is more than enough evidence that this guy should not have been on stage in any role. I find the whole thing grotesquely offensive.
 
As the ANC makes the claim of owning Mandela, I can not see them assigning any part of Mandelas funeral and memorial to any of the opposition parties.

As for the amount paid to Jantjies, the R800 is what was reported.
Who knows for sure what the deal was.

The ANC is making a big deal of who commissioned Jantjies but that may just be a smokescreen.

The ANC has also said that they intend to identify those who booed Zuma at the FNB stadium for naming and shaming.(and whatever else they deem neccessary)

The general consensus in SA at the moment is that the ANC is morally bankrupt and not fit for governing this country.

http://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/struggle-leaders-open-letter-to-zuma-resign.htm

http://kmmr.bookslive.co.za/blog/2013/12/04/justice-malala-the-anc-is-compromised-it-is-lost/

I hope that this consensus prevails in next years elections.

ETA In case you miss the link to the full article of Malala http://www.dispatch.co.za/opinion/anc-no-longer-has-leaders-but-zombies-who-follow/


What are the major political parties in SA these days besides the ANC?

Can you give a quick primer on the basics for us foreigners?
 
What are the major political parties in SA these days besides the ANC?

Can you give a quick primer on the basics for us foreigners?

This is as quick and simple as I can make it!

The ANC is the major political party. It has dominated the political scene since 1994. It has attained overwhelming majorities in the 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009 elections and will do so again in 2014. In 2009 it obtained 65.9% of the votes. It also controls 8/9 provinces and the majority of municipalities. It governs in alliance with Cosatu, a trade union organisation and the South African Communist Party.This explains in part th frequent references to "marxist" or "communist" from the resident racists but their economic policy since 1994 has been anything but "communist".

The largest opposition party is the Democratic Alliance. (DA) Although it has been carving out a larger slice of the electoral pie with each successive eletcion, it still only obtained 16.66% of the vote in 2009. It does control the Western Cape province (where my and Skwinty's home, Cape Town is located) and a number of municipalities. It suffers from being perceived as a "white party".

By American standards it is left wing; in SA political context it is centre right.

The remainder is taken up by a host of minor political parties. Four others are worthy of mention:

- Inkatha Freedom Party, a Zulu nationalist party with a stronghold in KwaZulu Natal. It gained 10.54% of the vote in 1994, but less than 5% in 2009. Its unlikely they will improve in 2014.

-Congress of the People, an ANC breakaway party. They obtained 7.42% of the vote in 2009. At one time it was possible they could have become the official opposition. but prolonged infighting over leadership has crippled the party. It is possible that they will not return to parliament in 2014.

There are 9 other parties represented nationally. No other party received more than 0.92% of the vote in 2009 and are not worthy of consideration.

There are two new parties which are receiving a lot of attention and may be important players after the next elections:

-Agang, a new arrival which will contest elections in 2014 for the first time. It is headed by Mamphele Ramphele who has a long and distinguished career, including a previous stint as director of the World Bank. Their policies are somewhat muddled and not easily distinguished from that of the DA. I don't think they will do too well.

- Economic Freedom Fighters, another new arrival, headed by former ANC Youth League president Julius Malema. Malema is a opportunistic hothead well-known for anti-white rhetoric and spouting nonsense on topics he knows nothing about and generally being an offensive moron. His base is the disillusioned poor (never mind the allegations of corruption and a ZAR16 million or about 1.6 million US dollars home.) His party is premised on a vague notion of "economic freedom" which includes nationalisation of mines. His party has been described by political commentators as displaying proto-fascist elememnts. They are a genuine wild card in the upcoming elections and may gain a significant number of votes (albeit not enough to dislodge the DA as the official opposition.
 

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