Why can't we all just get along?

The ANC Youth League never ever cease to amaze me with the depth of their stupidity.

Their latest brilliant statements have been about that passive little country north of South Korea- Indeed, we are talking about North Korea. Led by the humanist Kim Jong-il, who the learned member of the Youth League describe to aptly as 'a great guardian of peace'- indeed, the same esteemed leader who promised to reign down nuclear fire onto the West, is seen my our great leaders as a 'guardian of peace.'. Inspirational.

The genius that is the ANCYL secretary, Floyd Shivambu, further displayed his inability to either think, or his lack of any knowledge of news that goes on outside of his tiny mind by proudly stating, 'Who says North Korea is pursuing nuclear weapons? It is not true. It is sensationalism by the American media. They are pursuing nuclear energy and not nuclear weapons.'
Well said Floyd. However, if you read a newspaper (and assuming you can read of course), you would have known, that the wonderful 'guardian of peace' announced during February that North Korea was a nuclear power, and since, has re-stated this as a threat to the West (as all pacifists do). Furthermore, if Mr Floyd could think, he would have worked out that North Korea have exploded nuclear test devices, a process not needed if you were pursuing energy goals.

Added to this, our esteemed president Zuma, is now set to sit down with South Korea, whom we all know has a warm and fuzzy relationship with the their North Korean Neighbours, and as them for investment in South Africa.
Nothing more needs to be said. This is how our government operates.

Rain

I have not written anything for a while, and right now have no pressing issues I am in the mood to write about. There is a lovely thunderstorm and the rain is falling hard. It is so dark, it looks like early evening. This is one of my favourite times. Nothing better than a lovely thunderstorm. If it was night, I would be taking photos of lightning.

Hope whoever reads this enjoys the photos.

Making of paper stars

I see South Africa is in the grip of another so called reality program searching for new talent. Having said this, the world has been bombarded by shows like The X factor, Idols, You've got talent and so on and on...yawn. 

The public seem to eat this up, so for the people who have their bank accounts credited at the end, are smiling so widely that only their ears keep their mouths from engulfing their heads. 

Now I must admit I am rather cynical when it comes to these types of things. Where the  shows are clever, is that they rope in the public, by way of allowing us to vote for who we think is the winner. From day one, many have their favourites and celebrate their progression and mourn their demise. And who can forget the judges- many of whom really only judge talent on what their tastes are and would not know real talent if it hit them on the head. But hey, who can miss an opportunity to tear some young person up and crush their dreams even before they materialize. 

My take on this is simple- what they are essentially doing is an opinion poll. They are testing the waters to find the most popular contestant and based on the votes, who will sell the most albums. Very clever actually. I don't really think the suites behind these shows care who the winner is- as long as that winner brings in the money. Lots of hype helps and this just agitates the little human atoms to become involved and glued to the TV sets for every show. But the suites from the industry do not stop there of course. If other contestants are popular, they will sign them up as well....I mean, who can so no to exploiting so called artists for money. 

How many winners really go on to greater things? The Young chap had his success, but his comeback seems to have flopped like a dead fish. Our little Winkler dude seems to be having success, but then so are many less talented people than him as well. The point I am trying to make here, executives behind these programs are looking for a quick buck. And they are winning. While the winner, and whatever other contestants they choose, is still hot property and in the news, they will release songs and a CD. They know the way the industry works and realize there is not that much scope for a second CD before their next season, so the new shinning star becomes a brown dwarf star in no time at all.

Strike one for against the public

It has been a while since I last posted and I think I will try to become more regular again...

Let me blame winter for a brain freeze and let's leave it at that.

South Africa is in the grip of crippling public servants and other union strike. The strike is about better wages, as they always are. I do agree with the principles of the strike- public officials are poorly paid unless they are in high positions and in government roles. Then their pay is massive and they get to live like millionaires (which many are anyway thanks to dodgy BEE deals). So, based on this, a strike is understandable.

However (and yes, this is a big 'however'), the people on strike (fueled by the union bosses, who rake in the money anyway) have taken to acting like selfish savages to say the least. Over and above this, it appears they think they are above the law. Despite the many departments, the teachers and health care strikers are the most selfish.

The teachers are depriving their students (or 'learners' in RSA) of the education parents pay thousands of Rand a year for. Matrics (or Grade 12) are writing exams shortly , and the lack of teachers results in a lack of preparation for these important exams. More worrying is that the students have openly stated that they have lost respect for the teachers, as they do not care about their students. (Good point I say).

Then comes the wonderful health workers. Firstly, the point of them being on strike and neglecting their patients is disgusting enough, but to make matters worse, they intimidate and threaten those with decency and care, those who choose to help people, those health care workers that realize that human life is more important than money. As a result their have been a number of deaths, sadly babies amongst this.
Then, despite a court order, ordering them work, some of these creatures choose to defy the law and remain on strike, as well as carrying on with their bully behavior.

In my most humble opinion, those health workers who chose to strike should be dismissed as they are in the wrong profession. They do not deserve the pay increase that is a product of this strike. They obviously have no regard for life or for caring and as such, are more a danger pretending to care about patients.

These numbskulls have no idea what their strike does to the economy nor do they care as they are so short sighted that today is all that counts. Besides, when the economy collapses, they will strike about that as well.

The Celebs are out sheppards

I am still amazed at how people sit up and listen to what celebrities have to say. One day they are unknown and nobody notices them, then the next they become well know and rich and receive an extra 150 IQ points and the answers to the universe.

This is a disturbing trend. Professor John Grunburger (fictitious name proudly pulled from a legendary sweet wine) says that the world is ending. Life goes on and he gets a small column in Science Magazine and perhaps a page 15 article next to the baby fish born with three feet.
But let's say Al Gore or Leanardo say the same thing, we all scream in dismay and fly around like animals in a trap. That is why when it comes to election time, the celebs join in the election frenzy for their preferred party. Because they know the sucker public will eat up all they have to say.

In South Africa they have a Survivor for celebs. It gains a following and many actually believe they are trying to win the game for their chosen charities. There is a word for that- and it is the stuff male cows leave behind on the grass. They do it for the R500 000 going to them and the charities is a bonus. I can bet you if it were just for the money for charity, they would have bribed each other to be voted off. If it was for the charities they would give their R500 000 winnings away as well.

We think they are these glorious people who can do no wrong, and when they do, our jaws drop to the floor and we are so deeply hurt. The public are a bunch of idiots. I mean a world that thinks Justin Bieber can sing or that he has talent is pretty worrying. Another classic-Becks- he is an above average footballer, but due to his love affair with the media, is now labelled a legend. Let's not forget Amy Rehab - I heard she fell and bruised her ribs. Who cares. I am still trying to find her talent as well.

Programs like X Factor and Idols are run on viewer votes. It is obvious they are not trying to unearth talent, what they are doing is saying to us- 'this is what we have, you guys tell us which one is the most popular so that when they win, based on your votes, we can do an album and you suckers will more than likely purchase it because you idiots voted them the winner in the first place'. Screw the other artists who may actually have talent, it is popularity and record sales that counts at the end of the day.

When it comes to honours and awards, we are quick to lavish these upon celebs. However, people who keep industry running, are frowned upon and ignored. How many Rubbish Collectors have you seen on Top Billing? How many bankers have you seen winning the Order of South Africa? How many mechanics have you seen knighted? You see, the people who actually work and have a purpose in the world are pretty much people we cannot do without. We need bankers, doctors, rubbish collectors and so on. We do not NEED celebs.

Why is their chosen career (no matter how wonderful it is)  revered more than the rest of the careers other people do??
They are self serving people who bask in our idiotic following and the false glory we bestow up them that they do not deserve. Many have charities and are hailed for their work- they tirelessly gather money for whatever foundations, but what would be interesting, is how much of their own wealth finds it's way into the coffers of the foundations they support.

Okay, enough of this topic, it is off my chest for now!! I just think we should rather put glory where it rightfully belongs and give credit to those who actually make a difference in our lives. (Remember those who were in tears when Michale Jackson died?? Still don't understand how you can be broken up by somebody who really did nothing in your life other than make you part with your money)

Phew, I am cynical today. But this is how I feel. I think celebs are overblown, money crazy, self indulgent people who think they are superior to the rest of us. Many do not deserve the fans they have.

Raise a glass and a finger to them all......

How we pray

Star Wars was one of my best movies as a child, and as an adult. As a child I dreamed of becoming a Jedi Knight, swishing my light sabre about, killing all the bad aliens set on invading our planet. Fast forward till recent time. It seems my dreams have been answered- or at least partly. It seems I can become a Jedi Knight after all. I kid you not. It seems just like Star Trek formed an entire Klingon language and following, Star Wars has sprung it's own religion. It is call The Jedi Religion or Jedism. In short their belief is 'One all powerful force that binds all things in the universe together.'

Now, you could not be blamed, like I did, for thinking this was a bit of a joke. Having done some research it became amusing and an eye opener. Figures gained from a census conducted in these countries reflected the following- in New Zealand there are some 53 000 Jedi's (the 3rd biggest religion), in Australia-70 000, Canada-55 000 and the UK- 404 174- making it the 4th largest religion. Surprised- I was to say the least.

In the USA figures are not available, but an internet search showed chapters in dozens of US towns and cities, from which I am sure we can deduce there are also hundreds of thousands of followers.

As they say, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction..

Our little home

NASA recently released an image, made up of photos taken over a period of 8 days, of our planet, being the most detailed yet.(Above)

To compare we have a few other images taken through the years by humans.

The first, in 1946 by a German V2 Rocket.

The second is the well know, 'Earthrise', a classic photo of the earth rising from the moon's horizon. This was captured during an Apollo 8 mission during 1968.

Thirdly we have a 1972 photo, labelled 'The Marble', due to the globe resembling a marble. This was taken by astronauts during a 1972 Apollo 17 mission.

What makes the 2010 image spectacular is that is so detailed and that it is compiled from the best, cloudless images over a 8 day period. This ensures more of the earth is visible than hidden by clouds.

Then there is a picture taken during 1990 by the famed Voyager spacecraft as it traveled away from it's home planet.
The enhanced picture was taken some 5,9 million kilometres away from earth, and shows earth as a tiny blue dot. Carl Sagan (one of my childhood idols) famously commented on the photo-'Look again at the dot. That's here. That's home. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you have ever heard of, every human being who has ever was, lived out their lives.'

For me that sums up how fragile our existence is. It is pretty much all we have, and yet we do not take the care of the planet we need to.

And Lastly, for those of you who don't know, we need to set our morning alarms a bit earlier. This is due to the 8,8 magnitude earthquake in ?Chile, shifting the earth's axis by a gigantic 7cm. For those who like to make every bit of time count, we will lose a breath-taking 1,26 millionth of a second.
Kinda not even worth waking up and going to work is it?

Below is a series of photos, imaged together, of our fragile home at night.

Indeed I have been lazy, but it is Friday and true to Friday fashion, we have some silly crime stories.

Before we go to our overseas stories, we have to mention our own police commissioner's glowing pride when he mentioned, with a puffed out chest, that due to the police destroying firearms, more people are being killed by knives....seriously. I love the smell of success.

Our first story comes from Martinsburg, Pennsylvania.
It seems even criminals are not beyond the addiction of Facebook. Jonathan Parker was in the middle of robbing jewellrey from a home, when he suddenly had an urge to log into facebook. Now, it is not mentioned whether he was updating his status ('I am cleaning out a house') or picking his fruit on Farmville, but he bright spark forgot to log off after his session.

Obviously when the owners and then the Police came, there were all his details and fromthere it was not difficult to find him.That is why you are warned not to put too many of your details on your Facebook page- you never know who may want to find you.

Our second story is from Crestview in the States. Crestview police pulled over a truck for speeding and not remaining in one lane.
Once stopped, they notice the driver, 25 year old, Jason Miles (pictured above in his snazzy jail orange outfit)  was nervous and smelled like marijuana. Asked if he had anything illegal in the truck, he honestly blurted out, 'I have got $2000 worth of weed in the truck'.
Upon searching, officers found 110 grams of the magic herb, together with scales and peach cigars.
He went on to admit to selling wacky weed, but only on weekends as he was a full time student.
He was quoted as saying, 'You don't know how much weed I smoke'
Would love to see his results at the end of the year.

Lastly we have an accolade. It goes to a certain William Bradley Bankston from Mobil County, who has a proud record of being arrested, for various, charges, 97 times in 29 years. Most of the arrests come from the good old booze, disorderly conduct, assault and so on. Above are pics of the over achiever and if there are any woman who would like to know, yes, he is single.

 Wow- nothing I say can do this guy justice.

Rubberize it

It has emerged from weekend reports that our proud president, Jacob Zuma has fathered his 20th official child. Baby Thandekile Matina Zuma was born four months ago to Sonono Khoza, daughter of soccer king Irvin Khoza. (Granpa must be thrilled)

If this were a western country, there would have been outrage, as there is when any prime minister or president has an affair (hey Bill).
In South Africa it is largely accepted as 'Zulu culture' by many to have as many wives as the tax payer can afford and spawn offspring from whoever you choose in your vast kingdom. .

I am no expert of Zulu culture, so I will not comment on this side at all. But let us look at what we have. We have a president of a country consisting of many cultures. A role model for children and younger adults to follow. A figure that should be admired and respected, not only in South Africa, but worldwide.
As president, he does not represent the Zulu culture, but the country. All of us.

South Africa has one of the worst AIDS and HIV records in terms of treatment and case wise, we are among the highest in the world. We have a president who was recently praised for his stance on HIV and his declaring that people must use condoms.

Mr Zuma though, doe not lead by example. This was a man who had unprotected sex with an HIV positive woman, and took a shower afterwards to ward off the killer virus. Nice move sir.
What example is set when he openly has sexual relations with woman who are not his wives (and he has enough to choose from should little Zuma need some exercise) and over and above this infidelity, he chooses not to wear one of those little rubber devices that protects one from diseases, and also stop, by and large, more babies. (of course the number is not the problem because we, the tax payer funds the creche at the end of the day)

There will be call by the DA for his resignation, which will obviously be a waste of words as history tell us that ANC people do not just give up power.
The only answer there is, and let's face it, it ain't going to happen, is for Mr Z to grow up and realise he is not a Zulu king who can spawn children as he pleases and take as many maidens and wives as his tents can hold. He is the president of a real country and it is tax payers money that is funding his playboy lifestyle. Over and above this, he needs to teach his citizens, by example, that you should not have sex without a rubber device and you should not have multiple partners.

I cannot wait for the next exciting episode of Jacob Zuma's passionate adventures.

Friday Crime Time

It is Friday and we are going back to our usual Friday feature- daft criminals.

Both tales came from America.
Armondo Garcia, Abel Lahera, Jorge Amador and Emilio Moreira decided that instead of wasting their night sleeping, they would spend in productiely robbing a store.
They broke into Stuart Lawn and Garden at 3:30 am. Stealing mostly chainsaws, the surveillance tapes showed that they knew where everything was and did not waste time looking. The cameras also captured the robbers as well and their white van, with a mismatched wheel, while they were executing their brilliant crime.

They escaped before the police arrived and put their clever escape plan into motion. They were to abondon the van and escape in a Jaguar, but only after laying low for a while, after which they would blend into the morning traffic.

Miami police found the abondoned van, which was distinct enough and nearby they found the four brilliant criminals sound asleep in the Jaguar, with their loot in the boot.
They were prompty arrested and confessed. All for are being held for Burglary and Grand theft with bail of $10 000.
Below is a picture that is now placed at the entrance of the robbed store.

Our second criminal has only been decribed as a 27 year old mail from Seattle.

This genius was arrested sneaking around in the crawl space in the cieling of the Lusty Lady strip club. Many would be forgiven if they though he was there to steal money or, well, anything. Nope, our brain child was there to sneak into the stripper's dressing room.
Now this club offers strippers who go ALL the way and take every item of clothing off. He was not doing this to avoid the entrance fee, as he snuck into the crawl space only after he entered. One must assume he was trying to catch the strippers naked, in their dresssing room. Or maybe he actually wanted to catch them with clothes on.

He was charged with Malicious Mischief but released with a warning.

Money Well Spent

Those of us who drive around the roads in and around Johannesburg know that it takes skill, concentration and Schumi talent, not to ruin your car on one of South Africa's latest tourist attractions- yes, I am talking about the beloved Pothole.

Poor (and I use this word very loosely) road maintenance had resulted in the tar disintegrating like candy floss, especially with the heavy, virtually daily rain we have been experiencing. This has caused massive, gaping holes in the roads that are sometimes impossible to negotiate. Tyre shredders they are should you not be deft or lucky enough to dodge one.
One Fitment Centre said that 6 out of 10 clients were there due to pothole damage. Of course, there is a system where, on paper anyway, one can claim for damages to one's vehicle. The claim requirements include the need for a photo of the offending pothole. In reality, people who have claimed, often are shunted around with no success at all. (hard to believe I know)
Granted, there are one or two happy endings- but this seems to be the minority.

Of course the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA), has come out with their side of things. And as is with any Governement linked agency, it is met with amusement as it makes little sense to me.
JRA Chairman, Kehla Shubane,says that he knows there is a problem and acknowledges lack of maintenace is to blame for the sad state of affairs. (Good start you may think)
Then he advises that the potholes could be permanently fix if a site manager was allowed to stay at a site the whole day. Firstly does that say that the workers have no idea what they are doing. (There have been reports of these genuises fixing potholes in the pouring rain) and secondly, if he, the chairman of the JRA does not have the authority to allow managers to remain on site for a day, who does?
The second reason, and this is my favourite-because they have not been given enough funding to go forth and fix the gaping holes int he roads, that look set to rival the Kimberley Hole.(Of course they have one, we have thousands) The reason is that there are not enough funds available for this purpose.
Now we have to consider that the City of Johannesburg forked out between R90-100 million to host the fading Miss World competition. No money indeed.

I feel so much better now, as I weave along the little bit of drivable tar that is left, instinctively dodging oncoming cars and feeling like I am one of the Dakar rally contestants. I know the money went to a good cause.

Not a wet eye in the house

Considering all the rain we have been experienceing in Gauteng of late,me talking about a water crisis is a bit ironic.

As we all know consumable water is scarce. A strange fact on a planet that is mostly covered by water- the most vital substance to all living beings-is that less than one percent is able to be consumed by animals. The rest is either too salty (as in the oceans), locked up in glaciers and ice or in the atmosphere. What complicates matter, is that this tiny percentage is not evenly distributed around the planet. Some areas on earth have plenty of water and others have virtually none. Nature has learned to adapt to this. Humans have not.

Wildlife has evolved over the centuries to adapt to many different changes in their environments. What wildlife has never learned to adapt to is the human impact on the planet. As the human population increases, so do the demands in places upon the planet. As our demands on the planet increase, it leads to the decrease of nature and it's habitats and eco-systems.

All life on planet earth needs water- in varying degrees of course. In essence it has become a bit of a competition, for this valuable resource. Animals require water to live in or for hydration.
Humans though, need it for many other reasons other than direct consumption. Our biggest needs for water are fior agriculture, running the economy (used in industry) and generating electricity.

We as a species have now woken up, a bit anyway, to the fact that we need to find alternative energy sources to the good old burning of fossil fuel and polluting the atmosphere power stations. The dark cloud of climate change has made people sit up a bit and take notice of the 'footprint' we are leaving on our Mother Earth.

What many of us fail to realise, is that producing energy also has a water cost- paid for from our precious water resources. Eskom for example uses some 320 billion litres of water per annum (about 2% of our freshwater resources) to produce the electricity we take for granted. Due to increasing electricity demand, the needs for water consumption to produce power, has increased by 41% over the past 12 years. As our population grows and more communities get 'hooked' up with electricity, this figure will rise steeply.

Most of our power stations in South Africa are Wet-Cooled, which results in 85 % of the water used for cooling, evaporating into the atmosphere. .
Apparently our energy generator plans to build Dry-Cooled power stations in the future (which work similar to a car cooling system) to reduce the water demand. South Africa is home to two of the world's largest Dry-Cooled power stations already. It is claimed the one at Matimba uses 200 million litres of water a day less than a Wet-Cooled plant. The catch though (there always is one) is that Dry-Cooled plants are more expensive to build and their power output is compromised. (That is why Eskom is asking for half our salary every month-to fund corruption and expensive power stations).

A useful comparison has been done to see the amount of water required in producing electricity by various energy sources. The following is the amount of water required to run a non -energy saving 60watt bulb for 12 hours a day for a year.

A wet cooled power station- 500 litres
A hydroelectric plant- 350 litres
A solar energy plant- 250 litres
A dry cooled power station-40 litres
A nuclear plant- 25 litres
Wind turnbines- 1 litre

My first response was 'wow'. When we see how water usage goes hand in hand with electricity usage, it becomes apparent the need to save both.

Although the intitial costs of nuclear power are high, the benifts in the long run, outweigh thisb in my view. There are no harmful emmisions (unless there is a Chernobyl event, but they are rare), the monetary cost of producing energy is low and the unexpected bonus, is that Nuclear Power Plants desalinate water. This could be of massive use when placed in coastal areas to supplement their water resources. The important thing about nuclear plants is that the water does not have to be wasted as it can be returned to it's source or used for consumption.

Wind turbines use virtually no water to run and their cost of setting up is reducing. The amount of water required for Solar energy was a bit surprising, especially as it would be ideal for a country like South Africa which is usually sunny.
Hydroelectric schemes lose their water from evaporation. This would happen from any dam though.

I will not bore you (hope I have not so far) with a long and detailed study in alternative energy sources. I think we, as individuals and as a species, need to come to terms with the facts that water is our planet's most valuable resource. We take it for granted because we open up the tap and it is there. Over a billion people are not that lucky.
Water conservation should be as important as the drive to lower carbon emissions. And, as reflected above, we need to think water when looking at electricty sources. An ever growing human population will have a negative impact on the planet and on the current resources, water, gas, fossil fuels and so on. This does not only harm us, but the plants and animals that live on the planet with us as well.

One thing is evident though, like global warming, we realise there is a problem. A gigantic one. Yet, as humans we love to plan, scream and shout- but we do not actually turn this into action, especially if it may have an immediate negative effect on us. We hate thinking long term. We always wait for somebody else to start, somebody else to compromise. ( Look at the latest climate change talks for a good example).

As we fight amongst ourselves over who will be the first to make a major, tangible step, we continue to pollute the atmposhere and waste precious water.....and, we will kick into action when there is nothing left to save, no legacy for future generations.

Legal protection

We are at the end of another week. One of the big news storys going around is the fallout of an interview conducted by members of E-Tv with two criminals who bragged about how they would rob tourists during our upcoming world cup. The SAPS requested they share this information, and of course, E-Tv have refused under the guise of protecting their sources.

Now, this got me thinking- and yes, it does happen from time to time.

Legal representitives (Advocates and Attorneys) are legally obliged to keep information that suspects share with them, a secret. This is the case with holy representitives as well (Priests, reverends etc). Journalists do not have this same protection, so, they are legally obliged to hand over information to the police.However, they seem to think they do.

I must, however, question this whole issue. Number one, advocates and attorneys are representitves of the courts, representitives of the law. Why should they, if they have solid evidence on their client, not rather be obliged to hand in this evidence.
Yes, people have the right to fair legal representation in a court of law. One must ask though if being 'fair' to a criminal suspect over-rides the right of fairness to the general public. Why should a criminal be afforded a legal 'get out of jail free' card if they share damaging information with their legal rep? Surely if they are guilty, and their attorney knows this for sure, the attorney should be legally obliged to sell his client out, rather than protect him/her. Defending them from a conviction, when they are guilty is nothing short of a rape of the justice system. Although, not illegal.

The same goes for a preacher person. They are supposed to be God's helpers on earth. Therefore, they should, in my humble view, be doing the right thing for God and for society. Why would they have to keep a secret of somebody who has damaged this society by a criminal offence? Surely we must look at the greater good. That one person who's secret is kept, could be the difference between them being free and going to jail. The difference between another rape, murder or robbery. This is when the communities' rights come second to the criminal's.

I am not against human rights in general. But I do think we afford criminals too many and we, as the general public, are possibly prejudiced by this. If a real criminal is kept out of jail because the only people who knew his dirty little secret, were legally bound to keep it, then he/she will repeat the offence, or maybe move on to more serious offences. Many criminals are serial offenders, and this is a fact!
In this case, I trully think the law fails us. I do not believe criminals should be afforded this type of protection. Society does not deserve for them to have it either. As I mentioned before- the 'greater good' must be what benifits from the law. Not one or two dodgy people who use wormholes in the law as their playground.

Back to journalists. I do understand their need to keep their sources a secret. This obviously gains them trust and further information. However- what is the price of the big scoop? Let's face it, they do it for the glory more than they do it for the public's right to know. To be responsible for a jaw dropping article makes you a legend.
But why, would any sane, caring, honest person, not want to share information that would possibly save lives and/or heartache? Why should legal action be instituted to force them disclose information? Is the big scoop more important that the future victims of these self confessed armed robbers (and maybe future murderers)?

As we move into a world where crime is on the increase worldwide, we need to look at ways to stop the scum of the planet from creeping out of the rat traps and to ill deserved freedom to commit their seedy little deeds again and again. We should be altering laws to protect the innocent and the victims of crime We should not be bowing to people who have wronged society. They are the ones who chose to perform criminal acts and should pay the price of doing so.

Until human rights groups actually realise that the victims deserve the support more that the waste of skin they seem to care so much about, and until laws are altered to afford more protection to society, we will not be able to control crime. No matter what we are led to believe by the propoganda spewing government.

Precious Sharks

Sharks have been in the news again since the fatal attack of Lloyd Skinner off Fish Hoek beach (Cape Town). Attacks like this send fear through people and cause a sense of panic.

The truth is, shark attacks are rare. According to the International Shark Attack File (yes there is one)- there are less than 100 attacks per annum, from which 10-15 people die. This is worldwide. If you consider the millions of people swimming in  the oceans, the percentage is too low to calculate. In comparison, 1000 people die from croc attacks, 1500 from large cats and some 60 000 from snake bites per annum. Then we will not mention the car fatalities. But one shark attack causes so much panic.....

It is roughly estimated that humans kill 100 million sharks a year- now they should be a lot more petrified than us.

Because of this, selfish idiots are calling for shark nets to be placed at Cape Beaches. Why, so they can swim safely as they do in Natal. Gregg Oelofse, head of Environmental resource management at Cape Town City Council says that sharks nets will not be placed in the seas. The reason- would it be that sharks nets actually kill sharks and other sea life like whales and dolphins? Of course not. Why would somebody in his position care about the Environment and it's animals. The reason is because the coast is long and because of rough seas, the nets will be washed up onto the beach frequently-seriously! Great reason Gregg.

This idiot even goes on to say that killing sharks is a more effective option.....one has to ask how a selfish, short thinking gibbon like this actually heads any environmental department. Surely he should be tasked with protecting nature and not support killing it for human's pleasure. He should seek employment on a Japanese whale hunting ship the waste of earth space.

Maybe I am not getting the big picture here. To my mind, if God intended us to be sea creatures, we would have gills, or at the least, fins...but I have looked and I see neither on humans. So we are swimming in the shark's territory. And as much as we are out to get them, we, as a species are the savage ones. Sharks are not eating machines who will attack and eat anything they come accross. The are careful eaters who probably bite humans due to mistaken identity or when provoked.
Most attacks are one or two exploratory bites and the shark is gone as it realises we are not his prey. Bummer for us, is that the one or two bites may kill or maim us. However, we are in his ocean and being there, we should accept the risks. (Do we want to close down the car manufacturers due to road deaths)

Sharks have been around for 400 million years and they are a vital part of life in the oceans. In my view we do not have a right to kill them just because they stand in the way of us having fun in the ocean. How selfish are we as humans.....okay, I guess we are the most selfish creature around.
We have brought sharks to the brink of extinction- and that is no lie. As we have done with many other creatures. They have survived the changing planet for 400 million years and it is humans in our short existence, who will probably be the proud winners of the 'shark extinction cup.'

We need to wake up and realise, we have one planet. Once animals and fish are gone, they are gone. Once the planet is a barren wasteland, we are the losers. Will we wake up in time......??

To Shaik or not to Shaik

I hate to harp on about politics, but our governemnt makes it to easy.

In a previous entry I spoke warmly about the esteemed Mr Schabir Shaik, South Africa's favourite fraudster. This piece is a little follow on because the tale is full of entertainment value.

A statement from the presidency on 19th of October 2009, confirmed that it has recieved a request for presidential pardon, on 24th April 2009, from the above ex jailbird or hospital bird in this case (the same wonderful man who made us all believe that modern day miracles are alive and well.).

This being a pretty big story as Mr S was a close friend of our beloved president , Dr Jacob Zuma (he of many wives and an honoury doctorate-even with only primary school education).
At first Doc Z denied there was an application at all- making him virtually the only person in South Africa who did not know of this.
Of course old Zuma being the great dancer he is (his 'falling' wedding dance is used as reference here), danced around and twisted his denial to say that he has over 300 applications and that 'I have nothing in front of me'!!!!

Of course this is pretty funny on one front because he is a fool to actually try to deny this, when even his wives I am sure, knew that brother Shaik had applied. But it is serious in that he thinks he can lie to the country and expect us to cling on to every false word he says. Just as they expected us to swallow the unlikely story that Merc driving, golf playing Mr S had a week to live, before he was 'cured'.

Only the stupid or the blind followers will believe that Shaik will not be pardoned. Even if it on the sly, JZ will sign it off with a smile and a glass of Johnny Blue (the official ANC drink it seems )...Old Shaik will be pardoned....and there is nothing anybody can really do about it.
Democracy welcomes you.....

The glory of screwing the masses

As everybody in South Africa knows, the ruling party has turned 98 years old. This makes it one the oldest liberation groups around today.
The party has ruled South Africa for the past 15 plus years, but has not covered itself in glory.

South Africa is a third world country, although it is one of the strongest in Africa (but let's face it, there is not much competition)....and one of the few that is not involved in armed conflict. (I mean political, not criminal).
However, we are by no means a wealthy country, despite how the top leaders present themselves and their spending habits. Just look at the luxury in which our top politicians live, the luxury cars they 'need' and the luxurious lifestyle they love to live from day to day.

With this in mind, nobody could claim to be surprised at the money spent on the ANC's 98th birthday party. Not people to slum it, there was 16 year old Cogavalin whisky (R1 600 a bottle), Glenfiddich (R1 000-R1 500 a bottle) and then of course Royal Salute and Johnny Walker Blue (R2 700 a bottle). Sparkling wines were aplenty (R100+ a bottle) as well as other wines and beer.
Of course this excludes the food bill, which I think we could estimate would be fit the Queen Liz herself.

This is in contrast to the poverty of the majority of South Africans of ALL races. Like all African leaders, ours love the rich life, yet pretend to care and feel for the poor. Tens of millions of Rands are spend on parties, cars, SUV's, gifts etc, which let's face it, achieve nothing but to entertain and keep them thinking they are untouchable.
This to me is a crime. We, the tax payers fund this excess that they live, although we cannot afford a quarter of they things they do. Many citizens do not have houses or a meal at night, many others just get by with a meal a day.

The millions spent on wonderful balls and get togethers, should rather be placed into projects that will uplift the country and not just fill the bellies of a few fat selfish people, who let's face it, only worry about themselves. Fix our infrustructure, upgrade schools and hospitals and so on. There is no shortage of ideas.
But, we all know, that this will not happen. The leaders are blind to the reality and hide behind their high walls and ten car, black vehicle processions- only taking a peek once every four years when they need the votes.

All we can do is hope and pray that the voting majority take not and think about there vote a little more...sigh!