Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
Writing this in my personal capacity, but I have been flying these types of aircraft for more than 20 years, with over 8,000 hours, and have reasonable familiarity with how the charter world operates. I feel compelled to post after seeing commentary about the Lear 60 crash, from missile strikes to DEI to critiquing this poor woman’s final radio calls.
That last part is what I find most troubling. She was the second-in-command (SIC), and while she was empowered to point out mistakes as part of good crew resource management, she was doing her job, communicating with ATC right to the end in a terrifying situation. She likely knew before many of those calls that she was going to die. I have heard final calls from friends, from military pilots with thousands of hours in fighter aircraft, and they are just as heartbreaking because they know the end is approaching.
I understand the public interest given the footage and audio. But you do not know the aircraft’s maintenance history, whether there was a structural failure, if any failure was induced by turbulence, overspeed, or overcontrol, or everything happening in that cockpit. I am sure weather will be part of the investigation, but beyond that, it is speculation. The charter industry routinely hires commercial pilots very early in their careers to gain experience alongside an ATP-qualified captain before they move up to the airlines. She would still have the appropriate training, qualifications, and checkouts by an FAA examiner or designee.
Let people investigate, learn, and share the facts. Be respectful to those who perished and the families who carry their memories. God bless them and their loved ones.
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
A rare visitor in our waters this week: a bull elephant seal, spotted on the Marine Dynamics trip at Gansbaai, as well as the whales, penguins and bronze whalers. You don't see that every day! 📸 @MarineDynamics, Laticia Mudege
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
SIR PATRICK STEWART (1940-2026)
Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in 'Star Trek'. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.
His farewell performance in 'Avengers: Doomsday' is yet to be seen.
Ian McKellen 29 October 2026
Photo: University of Huddersfield
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
I am deeply saddened to learn of Walter Koenig’s passing.
Although we did not know each other well away from the set, we shared the later seasons of the original Star Trek series and the six films that followed.
What I observed, and what so many fans have expressed over the years, was a man who genuinely loved the Star Trek community.
At conventions, Walter was rarely content to remain behind a signing table. He preferred to be among the people who had kept Star Trek alive for so many decades.
That kind of genuine connection is rare, and it will be remembered by everyone who came into contact with him.
My condolences to his family, his friends, and the countless fans whose lives he touched.
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
One by the city, one by the sea. 🗝️ Crayfish Lodge, adults-only in De Kelders, + the Crayfish Penthouse opposite the harbour, Cape Town. Whale footage: Marine Dynamics.
#CrayfishCollection #CapeTown #DeKelders
Roadster at Petersen
Roadster will be on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA starting tomorrow
Oct 24-27, Main Lobby
petersen.org/pages/petersen-…
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
two orcas off Gearing's Point in Hermanus yesterday morning - a rare sighting in Walker Bay, in the middle of whale season. Keep an eye on the water from the cliffs in De Kelders 🐋 novanews.co.za/hermanustimes…
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
Two great Overberg adventures: a shark cage dive with Marine Dynamics off Gansbaai, where bronze whalers are now the regular visitors, and a sunrise sea swim in Hermanus with Wild Wellness. Both are an easy drive from us in De Kelders 😉 wantedonline.co.za/travel/20…
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
Breakfast at Crayfish Lodge, then out to sea with the bronze whalers. 🦈🌅 Gansbaai's shark country, with Dyer Island and Geyser Rock just offshore, a short drive from De Kelders. 🎶 "Shark Country (Hahns-bye)"
Footage courtesy of @MarineDynamics.
crayfishlodge.com
#Gansbaai #DeKelders #SharkCageDiving #BronzeWhalers #DyerIsland #CrayfishLodge #WalkerBay #SouthAfrica
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
Wenn man wissen will, wieso Deutschland nie wieder einen Krupp, von Siemens, Bosch, von Braun, Benz, Thyssen oder Daimler hervorbringen wird, muss man sich nur die linken Kommentare zu Elon Musk und dem Roadster durchlesen.
Das Shitbürgertum in Aktion.
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
die verbitterte Trostlosigkeit unserer Eliten angesichts der poetischsten Inszenierungen des Kapitalismus - als Freiheits- & Machbarkeitsträume - zeigt, dass das Elend des Standortes das Elend seiner Verliererkultur, geprägt von Angsthasen & Idioten, ist
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
How often do you see an orchestra give a kid a standing ovation? How often do you see grown men cry? This is far and away the best I've ever heard this sung. The arrangement is exceptional. Way better than the original
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
Blue hour on our rooftop at The Onyx: a drink on the table, cruise ships and cranes in the harbour, and the sky over Table Bay turning pink. Crayfish Penthouse, Cape Town.
crayfishpenthouse.com
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
Former Springfontein winemaker Tariro Masayiti is still in Stanford, the first wines from new undertaking Landskein now available (subscribe to read): winemag.co.za/wine/review/la…
Leider, leider zu viel Wahres dran… 😢
🔥🔥🔥 WACHT ENDLICH AUF, IHR DEUTSCHEN IDIOTEN.🔥🔥🔥
Es ging NIE um die Ukraine☝️☝️☝️
Es ging um EUCH 🫵🫵🫵
Um eure Fabriken.
Um euer Geld.
Um eure blinde Hörigkeit.
Lord Ismay, erster NATO-Chef, 1952: Die NATO wurde gebaut, um die Russen draussen, die Amerikaner drin und die DEUTSCHEN UNTEN zu halten ihr 🫵🫵🫵 IDIOTEN ☝️☝️☝️
George Friedman, 2015: Seit über 100 Jahren – Erster Weltkrieg, Zweiter Weltkrieg, Kalter Krieg – war das Hauptziel der USA, Deutschland und Russland getrennt zu halten. Vereint seid ihr die einzige Macht, die Washington bedrohen kann. Deshalb darf das NIE passieren.☝️☝️☝️
Und was macht ihr?
Ihr klatscht.
Ihr glaubt.
Ihr zahlt.
Ihr schreit „Russland!“ und merkt nicht, dass man euch systematisch zerlegt.🙈🙈🙈
Die USA haben um Europa herum Kriege angezündet 🔥🔥🔥, Migration als Waffe eingesetzt und euren Exportweltmeister gezielt in den Ruin getrieben.☝️☝️☝️
Nicht Putin hat eure Energie zerstört. Nicht Putin hat eure Industrie abgewürgt.
Nicht Putin hat eure Grenzen aufgerissen.
DAS HABT IHR 🫵🫵🫵 SELBST ZUGELASSEN.
Russland ist nicht euer Feind, ihr Idioten. Russland ist der NACHBAR.☝️☝️☝️
Derselbe Nachbar, der trotz rund 27 MILLIONEN ermordeter Russen im Zweiten Weltkrieg später eure Wirtschaft mit Energie am Leben gehalten hat ihr 🫵🫵🫵 IDIOTEN ☝️☝️☝️
Ohne diesen Nachbarn wärt ihr nie Exportweltmeister geworden.☝️☝️☝️
Und jetzt tanzt ihr nach der Pfeife derer, die euch kleinhalten wollen.
Schaut euch eure Anführer an:
Von der Leyen – geschichtsverwahrloste EU-Statthalterin, ohne euer Mandat, ohne euer Interesse.🤮🤮🤮
Merz – BlackRock-LÜGENKANZLER, typisch deutsche KRIEGSFRATZE, der Deutschland in fremde Kriege hetzt, während das eigene Land verrottet.🤮🤮🤮
Das sind keine Volksvertreter.☝️☝️☝️
Das sind Erfüllungsgehilfen.
Die gehören nicht auf Podien.
Die gehören vor Nürnberg 2.0.☝️☝️☝️
Nach 1945 habt ihr NICHTS gelernt.
Ihr habt euch weiter vorführen lassen.
Jetzt seid ihr teuer, gespalten, abhängig, industriell am Boden – und immer noch stolz auf eure eigene Dummheit.🙈🙈🙈
Die Falle 🪤🪤🪤ist zu.
Washington hat sie gebaut. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Eure Politiker haben sie zugedrückt.
Und ihr 🫵🫵🫵 habt den Hebel selbst betätigt.
Wacht auf.☝️☝️☝️
Oder bleibt das, was ihr gerade seid:
die nützlichen Idioten Europas.😡😡😡
youtube.com/shorts/zlmRIB6rF…
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
Replying to @visegrad24 @elonmusk
It’s not just Starlink. Think @teslaeurope. If I remember correctly, there’s been early talks about a Gigafactory in the Western Cape years ago. Imagine the jobs… SA could produce literally all of the RHD vehicles sold globally. Plus Energy products, @Tesla_Optimus… And then @SpaceX… @elonmusk’s combined companies could literally be the largest employer in SA
Reinhard FraKe 🇿🇦🇩🇪 retweeted
Man muss FJ Strauß nur drei Minuten zuhören, und der ganze intellektuelle und sittliche Verfall der Gegenwart liegt offen da. Es geht im Gespräch mit Günter Gaus 1964 um die notwendige Qualifikation eines Politikers.
Strauß redet dabei nicht als Parteimanager. Er redet als jemand, der noch wusste, dass Politik ein Charakterberuf ist. Kein Strategiepapier. Keine Arbeitsgruppe. Kein „neues Narrativ“. Ein Politiker, erst recht ein Kanzler, braucht ein Fundament, das älter ist als die letzte Koalitionsrunde.
Und dann die Unterscheidung, die heute niemand mehr treffen will: Weltanschauung ist nicht Weltbild, Weltbild ist nicht Geschichtsbild. Ohne Geschichtsbild bleibt nur Verwaltung. Strauß verlangt das damals Selbstverständliche: Strömungen erfassen, Folgen ahnen, den schwachen Spuren der Wahrheit auch in düsterer Zeit folgen. Instinkt plus Mut zum Wagnis. Die heutigen Altparteien CDU und SPD haben nichts mehr davon. Sie hatten ihre Zeit und sind nur noch morsch. Jetzt werden sie von Kräften verdrängt, die wieder den Mut haben, den großen Bewegungen der Zeit zu folgen. Im Grunde ein völlig normaler Vorgang.
Wow. What a story. And whst a testament to true human compassion 🙏🏻
Nine months after September 11, a village in Kenya with no electricity, no running water, and no roads gave America the most valuable thing it had.
Fourteen cows.
This is not a joke. It is one of the most serious gifts this country has ever received.
Kimeli Naiyomah grew up in Enoosaen, a Maasai village near the Tanzanian border. His family was so poor they owned no cattle. Among the Maasai, that is the bottom. A family without cows is barely counted as a family.
At fourteen he ran away to a school where the lessons were held under a tree. He walked. He had no shoes, no books, no money. He asked to be let in anyway.
Years later he was a student at Stanford, in California, studying to be a doctor.
On September 11, 2001, he happened to be in New York City.
He watched the towers fall.
He was a Maasai warrior. Warriors are trained from childhood to run toward danger. He wanted to run to the pile. He could not help there. He did not know what to do with what he had seen.
Months later he went home to Enoosaen.
The elders had heard something on the radio. Vaguely. A place called New York. Buildings. Some of them had not heard at all. Nobody in the village had ever seen a skyscraper. Nobody had been on an airplane. The idea of a building a hundred stories tall, full of thousands of people, falling down, was not something the language had words for.
Kimeli sat with them and explained. Slowly. What a tower was. How many people. What it looked like when it came down. He told them what he had seen with his own eyes.
The elders listened. When he finished, one of them asked a question.
"What can we do for these poor people?"
Kimeli had already decided. He had saved money in America. He wanted to buy a cow, the first cow his family had ever owned, and he wanted to give it to the United States.
To the Maasai, a cow is not livestock. A cow is life. It is wealth, food, standing, survival. An elder explained it to a reporter in one sentence. A cow is the handkerchief we Maasai use to wipe away tears.
Kimeli asked the elders for their blessing to give his one cow to America.
Then, one by one, the elders stood up.
They wanted to give too.
In the end, fourteen families pledged fourteen cows. In a community of about ten thousand people who owned almost nothing else.
On June 3, 2002, the United States chargé d'affaires in Kenya, William Brencick, traveled to Enoosaen. A flight, then more than half a day by road across terrain that barely counts as road. When he arrived, hundreds of Maasai in red robes were waiting. Some held hand-lettered banners.
"To the people of America, we give these cows to help you."
The elders presented the fourteen cows. Brencick accepted them on behalf of the United States. He called it the highest expression of regard and sympathy.
Then there was a practical problem. How do you ship fourteen sacred cows to New York?
The answer the two sides arrived at was better than shipping them.
The cows would stay in Kenya. They would belong to the United States of America. The Maasai would care for them, forever, as America's herd.
They are still there.
The original fourteen have multiplied into dozens. Each one carries a mark carved into its ear, the outline of two towers. Their offspring fund scholarships for the children of the village. The U.S. embassy built a school there, and a water project.
When the story reached America, forty thousand people wrote letters to the village. A painting of the fourteen cows hangs in the 9/11 Memorial Museum. A children's book about them became a national bestseller.
Kimeli's own explanation was the shortest.
To heal a sorrowing heart, give something that is dear to your own.
A village that had never seen a skyscraper, that could not have found New York on a map, that owned almost nothing, gave America the one thing it valued most.
Somewhere in Kenya tonight, there are cows with towers carved into their ears.
They are ours.
They were given to wipe our tears. 🇺🇸🇰🇪





















