Murray Ortlepp

Loving life in the Cape Town.

[Helen Zille @helenzille]

That's Adriaan Basson. Wrong every time. History will show.

[Alice VL @RiseAgainstEvil]

And here we all were, watching the Oval Office meeting, wondering why Johann Rupert lied to @POTUS.

Originally called Project Grapevine and funded by the Rupert, Oppenheimer and Rothschild families. It was renamed Project Spider Web.

In 2010 the Oppenheimer and Rothschild families stopped funding the project which was then taken over by the Rupert family. What control do the Rupert family have over the ANC? Tonight you will find out.

We will also release Ramaphosa's CR-17 bank statement during the live stream, a document that has been concealed by court order in South Africa.

[Michael Shellenberger @shellenberger]

Journalists are aggressively defending Fauci, despite his diaries showing that he repeatedly lied to the public. The reason is that, after years of dehumanizing Covid dissidents based on his lies, media elites can’t cope with the enormity of their failure. By @GalexyBrane

[Acclaimed Journalist @Jonathan_Witt]

This is why I have moments of ambivalence about EWC - if those brave enough to take the fight to the Government (who also take a few photographs outside of the court whilst doing so) win then private property is protected and our economy doesn’t completely collapse.

If they lose then Gareth has his house and all of his possessions taken from him.

[Inside Politics @insidepols]

Documenting ASA and Michael Beaumont’s lies for the record.

It is unusual in politics to get a cut and dry lie. Typically, those politicians invested in dishonesty can play with language and meaning retroactively and wriggle out of responsibility for deceit. On the issue of the Tshwane Council meeting, and the suspension of the City Manager, Action South Africa, ASA's interim national chairman, Michael Beaumont, cannot. He lied, repeatedly and blatantly, and the judgement issued by the High Court yesterday makes his lie crystal clear and inescapable.

His lie, repeated many times on Twitter, and multiple times on other news platforms, including national television, was that DA councillors were "absent" from the relevant meeting; thus the vote against the suspension of the City Manager was lost. They were, however, not absent, but present and voted.

It was a remarkable claim. He literally said those councillors were “absent”. No sophisticated sophistry or implication, he literally tried to say people in a room, were not in a room. Again and again, he restated this lie. But the judgement, right up front, makes it clear this was not true. Here is the relevant paragraph:

“[10] Thirteen of the applicant’s councilors had sought leave of absence in respect of this meeting. However, when the purpose of the meeting became known, nine of these councillors withdrew their requests for leave, and attended the Council meeting. Another councillor from a different political party also withdrew her leave and attended the Council meeting. All ten of these councillors voted at the meeting…”

ASA’s record, when it comes to crises in which it bears some responsibility is dire. All through the VAT crisis, it lied. Repeatedly and consistently. That was a highly complex issue, so more difficult to pin down the party’s dishonesty. This is not. Beaumont said those councillors were “absent”. They were not. Black and white.

It is disturbing, the degree to which Beaumont, essentially the face of ASA, is prepared to lie like this, to the public, to ASA members and, on multiple occasions directly to members of the media who inquired. He would literally tell them the DA was absent.

One of the reasons ASA can often get away with this is because, like Trump, its members lie so much, about so many things, it becomes almost impossible to keep up, and distinguish fact from fiction. So, when you get an absolute, unequivocal, and repeated lie like this, it is worth documenting properly, as a reference point for the future.

In turn, hopefully, people – particularly in the media – will now understand that, much of what ASA says, especially when it is defending its own actions under pressure (or talking about its opposition), cannot be taken on face value.

Here then is a short list (there are many more examples), of Beaumont’s categorical lie.

“Imagine if they had just gone to council in the first place?” 14 July 2026
“Just the DA sensationalising the implementation of the decision that was taken entirely BECAUSE they were absent from Council with apologies citing "party responsibilities". 11 July 2026
“[The DA] did not arrive in council and then vote…” 11 July 2026
“Don't waste your vote on a party that campaigns on issues but then goes on holiday during the council meeting where the decisions on these issues are made.” 10 July 2026
“The reason why the Tshwane City Manager Johann Mettler is suspended and the CFO Gareth Mnisi is returning to work, is because some parties campaign on issues and are then absent when those issues are voted upon in council.” 10 July 2026
“Cilliers Brink's considerable failures led to that necessity and that still has nothing to do with the fact that DA councillors elected to not attend.” 10 July 2026
“…the entire reason these outcomes arose is because 15 DA Councillors did not attend council choosing to submit leaves of absence.” 9 July 2026
“Councillors from the Democratic Alliance didn’t attend this meeting... they didn’t bother to attend the council meeting.” 9 July 2026
“ActionSA stands by its principled vote on the merits of the cases while absent DA councillors sealed the outcome by not attending after campaigning on these issues for 2 weeks”. 9 July 2026

[Gad Saad @GadSaad]

Use your critical thinking. Do not sacrifice our civilization in order to stroke your luxuriant hair in the Mirror of Moral Preening.

Have a great week.

[Murray Ortlepp @Muzza_za]

@bensmithrugby 🎣

[maya fisher-french @mayaonmoney]

“Filing tax is one of the most stressful things South Africans do every year...
You can now get instant tax help via a WhatsApp message or voice note, thanks to TaxTim, South Africa’s digital tax assistant.

https://t.co/h5S0LeOgBF

[Brivael Le Pogam @brivael]

Hier quelqu’un m’a sorti que l’AfD c’était le diable incarné.

Du coup j’ai passé une heure avec Grok à lire leur programme (Grundsatzprogramm 2016 + Wahlprogramm 2025 « Zeit für Deutschland »).

Voilà ce que j’ai trouvé, point par point :

- Référendums d’initiative populaire à la suisse + limitation des mandats des professionnels de la politique

- Europe des nations souveraines (ou sortie si impossible), fin de l’euro comme monnaie unique

- Contrôle total des frontières, procédures d’asile hors Allemagne, prestations en nature uniquement, remigration massive des personnes sans droit de séjour et des criminels

- Baisse massive des impôts, suppression du Soli, family splitting, simplification fiscale

- Fin de l’Energiewende : retour au nucléaire, maintien du charbon, réparation de Nord Stream, suppression de la taxe CO₂ et des interdictions de moteurs thermiques

- Famille traditionnelle (père-mère-enfant) encouragée par des aides natalistes fortes

- Deutsche Leitkultur, langue allemande protégée, « l’islam n’appartient pas à l’Allemagne » s’il refuse l’ordre juridique

- Renforcement de la police, tolérance zéro sur la criminalité étrangère et les clans

- Liberté d’expression maximale et réforme des médias publics

C’est le programme officiel, pas des rumeurs.

Maintenant, question simple et sincère :

Quelqu’un peut m’expliquer concrètement en quoi ce programme fait de l’AfD le nouveau parti nazi ?

[Khaya Sithole @CoruscaKhaya]

“BEE has created a class of rent-seekers, not a class of entrepreneurs. BEE has facilitated a corrupt relationship between the state and sections of the black elite. BEE has scared away foreign investments and undermined domestic investments because it is difficult and costly to implement, monitor and sustain,” Naidoo writes...

Business Day - BIG READ | Ramaphosa adviser proposes voluntary tax to fund BEE https://t.co/O1DUFA4NGI

[Roland Schoeman @Rolandschoeman]

ANC screams racism at Afrikaner Bokkieweek.
But Zulu-only Reed Dance gets tax money & royal parades? Xhosa initiations fine.
Heritage for Black tribes good. White tribe bad.
This is your ‘equality.

[Bryson DeChambeau @brysondech]

Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.

[I Am Leah @Bossy_Leah]

Sorry that the plane blew sand into your vagina, Dave.

[Acclaimed Journalist @Jonathan_Witt]

I know the ANC doesn’t want Starlink, wants to be best friends with Iran/Russia/China, views the United States and Israel as enemies, thinks racial discrimination is fairness as long as it’s against white people, and will oppose any legislation or deregulation which will directly cause economic growth. They are open and vocal about all of this.

I have literally no idea where the DA stands on any of these things anymore. They are unusually careful not to say bad things about their partner’s friends, they’re too scared to be supportive of Israel or the US (and can’t be because their caucus HATES Trump), they have dropped all of their rhetoric and court cases against BEE etc, apparently can’t bring themselves to be vocally in favour of Starlink despite running the Communications Ministry, and although Sarupen has brought some literal balance to the Treasury the party is completely silent on smelters shutting down, our lack of petroleum refineries, and SARS targeting pretty much their voters for taking their personal electronics out of the country or buying themselves a few personal items on holiday.

If they wanted to be seen as ANC lite what would they do differently?

[Kanthan Pillay 🇿🇦 @KanthanPillay]

The radicalization of former DA liberals like Renaldo Gouws is the result of years of the ANC’s hate-mongering and the DA’s spinelessness.

They have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve.

Excellent.

[Acclaimed Journalist @Jonathan_Witt]

Barbara Creecy is a communist who has made every single department she has worked in objectively worse. I really hope I live long enough to see our Pinochet rise to power.

[Natalie F Danelishen @Chesschick01]

I have never seen a community note go so hard before 😂

[Jesse Kelly @JesseKellyDC]

I love this for Christopher Nolan. This is exactly what he deserves.

You made your DEI hire so you could win an Oscar. You increased her fame and her bank account several times over.

And did you think she would be grateful for that?

That’s not how communists work.

[Martin van Staden @Martin_ASFL]

Habib is an outspoken supporter of race law (for "good-vibes" reasons, of course), whereas the Solidarity Movement is an outspoken opponent.

Yet Habib will lie with a straight face and pretend like Solidarity are the advocates of "ethnic politics" while he's "cosmopolitan".

Suddenly, Habib also cares about the rise of "illiberal behaviour".

I've been in the South African liberal movement for more than a decade now, and the few times I've had to think about Adam Habib, he's been on the opposite side, supporting the authoritarianism.

Again, just shameless lying. All vibes, no substance.

[The White House @WhiteHouse]

You can be a communist or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both.