In the news it was announced that the 70 richest members of China's legislature, added more to their personal wealth during 2011 than the entire net worth ( 535 members) of the US congress, The President, his cabinet and the 9 Supreme Court justices.
The 70 members of China's National People's Congress (NRC) had an increase in net wealth of $11,5 Billion, bringing their wealth to a jaw dropping $565,8 Billion. The information was taken from the Hurun Report, which tracks China's wealthiest. All 660 top officials in the three branches of the US government are worth a combined $7,5 Billion.

Interestingly, the top official in the US congress in terms of wealth, Darrell Issa, a California Republican, had a maximum level of $700,9 Million in 2010. This would placed him in a mere 40th position, should he belong to the NRC.

When you look at this, it becomes obvious why our government in South Africa is so keen to visit China and learn from the Chinese government. They too, see it as their right, as the leaders, to rake in the riches. And as China appear to be great role models in this area, I am sure the ANC will be like little sponges. Strangely, in a country that has one of the best constitutions worldwide and a country that places human rights so high, South Africa do not question nor challenge their Chinese friends on their human rights record. Then again, the government is slowly taking away our freedom as well.
Birds of a feather...

Russia and it's misguided support

We all know that our ANC government goes around calling each other 'Comrade', as if they were still stuck in the old USSR. This is obviously a reference to their communist roots and their latent support of a said political style that has not worked anywhere.
With this in mind, we go across to old Mother Russia.

It is a very badly kept secret (if it is even one at all, really) that Iran is pursuing the Nuke route- they say for power, the rest of the world believes for weapons- a rose by any other name. In other words, it is pretty much accepted that they want some nuclear tips on their already designed missiles. Taking into consideration the extreme rule of Iran, the fact that they do not want Israel on the planet and are always threatening woe, rains of fire and destruction on the West, the concern is well placed.

Iran has two real allies- Russia and China, and both sit on the UN Security Council. Why is this a problem- well because these two countries make it a habit of opposing action from the Western powers. Recently they vetoed a proposal to crack down on Syria's government as it is massacring thousands of it's own people. So, in essence they support the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of citizens. This is despite the Arab countries fully supporting such a move. Speaks volumes of their support for civil rights. We must also bear in mind, March the 8th, marks presidential elections in Russia and old Vlad has faced major protests and upheaval in his country. Maybe he is trying to appear a strong leader to appease the voters or maybe he is thinking about firing the Cold War up all over again. Maybe he is simply desperate for re-election.

Supporitn Syria was one thing. but with Iran, Russia has a harsher line. Vladimir Putin promises catastrophic consequences if a military strike goes ahead without UN approval. Catch here is, Russia will veto any such proposal. Prime Minister Vlad is obviously sitting with the woolly cap over his eyes and thinks Iran are pursuing ONLY the nuclear-power route. He does not want to realize the danger of such an extreme government having a weapon of mass destruction. Not only would I venture an extremist government may use not hesitate to use it, but there is also an opportunity of sharing their toys with terrorists opposed to the West. It is bad enough the two rivals Pakistan and India have the 'bomb', we do not need other volatile nations possessing the key to such destruction. This may seem to be double standards, as I appear to condoning the possession of the bomb by Western Powers- but I am not. I think the worst thing ever made, was the nuclear weapon and I wish they could somehow be out-lawed and destroyed. But, we have to be realistic and realize this is not going to happen. In the second option, we can try to limit who has it. Then we ask- who decides. Well, I guess the people who feel threatened by somebody possessing the Nuke warhead could be a start. Perhaps there is no easy answer nor a right or wrong one when it comes to saying who should and who should not have the Mushroom making Bomb. I personally would not like nations rules by extreme leaders to have anything resembling a nuclear weapon. Like North Korea.

We need to face reality and realize, more nations will seek nuclear weapons, and the more that do, the less chance we have of ever eradicating this most brutal and indiscriminate weapon even made. It is already too late. How long will the Super powers go on reducing stockpiles of warheads, when a nuclear threat appears to be growing? Is it justified for a threatened nation to launch a military strike to take out Nuclear weapons before they are launched against it?
There are more questions that answers and the answers will obviously relate to where on the planet you live. God will be the only 'person' that could help us in the end.

Why do we worship celebs?

With all the hype around the Oscars and Grammys, I am once again left wondering- why? why do we care who wins what? What value does it bring to our lives?

Don't get me wrong, I love movies, some television series', music etc. So I am not anti entertainment. And yes, I do have my favourite actors, musicians and so on-so I am not against people being actors or musicians or comics or whatever they choose to be.

What I do not understand is how we allow people in the entertainment business to have such an effect on our lives.
The way I see it, to be an actor, or musician, is a job- as is a bank worker or street sweeper- or the guys who collect the rubbish. The difference is that the people in entertainment ,earn truck loads more money and are public faces. But where are they more special that the rest of us?

Many so called celebs, milk the publicity and allow themselves to be placed on a shrine, thinking they are better than the plebs (AKA, their fans)- and it amazes me how many think, that with celebrity, comes a book that gives them the answers to the universe and never miss an opportunity to shed some of their new found genius upon us simple ignorant folk.
They love the coverage they get, and the gullible general public eat it up like programmed sheep. This is why tabloids are so successful- because many actually care whether J-Lo wants to marry again, or Victoria Beckham's left boobs fell off, Lady Gaga gives us her 'educated' take on something. Again I ask why? Why do I care that David Beckham thinks Justin Bieber will make a good father and even if he may, (when eventually her hits puberty) why do I care?
Whitney, Amy, Michael die and it gets coverage in  the newspapers, the television, the internet for ages....how many poor children die world wide, with not even a news snippet on page 6? Are the celebrity lives worth more than these children or anybody else on the planet?

Does being a celebrity suddenly make you a better person that the rest and does this entitle you to better treatment? Why are celebs VIP guests at events and the rest of us are lucky to crack a third rate invitation in the most remote section of the event, just behind the thunder- boxes.

Or is it us, the sheep who are programmed by the media, to act in a certain 'correct' way as to give these people the power we have given them? I mean I could have a stroke, when somebody chats to a celeb and says, 'they are so down to earth.'. I always wonder why they should not be. In the morning, do they not go to the potty like the rest of us. What makes them think they are so untouchable and they have 'fans' who care bout everything they say- well, we make them know this, by idol worshiping them. We feed their self centred frenzy, by showing unnatural interest in these people over and above what they do for a living.

From my point of view, I do not care who wins an Oscar. Nor do I care who wins a banking award in the bank where I bank. They are the same though. An award given to a stranger. We do not know these people, just because they play the media and show us all some of their lives, it does not make us know them-although we think we do. They show us what they want us to see, it's as simple as that.

In my view, the chap who takes my rubbish away every week is more important and has a more important place in society- yet nobody cares about him or if his family was kidnapped by aliens, or he contracted some unknown disease from this abduction. Yet when a celeb contracts something they are so 'brave' etc and they used to appear on Oprah, who also used to stroke their ego's as if it were a pet dog. Where is a paramedic or a fireman's job less important than being an actor? However, these professions, although the cornerstones of a civil society, are just there, and not celebrated. We actually take them for granted.
I am not saying their is not a place in society for entertainment, because that would be sill as we all know there is a big one.

But, we need to wake up and stop being led by the mass media and other people. Celebrities, just like politicians, they do not deserve special treatment. They are simply doing their jobs, nothing more or less. Granted many give to charity, but then, how many unknown people do as well.
Other than being damn wealthy, celebs are no different to the rest us and as such, I cannot see where they deserve the 5 star treatment and paparazzi wherever the go. We need to start placing value on the jobs that are important to us as a society and stop blindly following everything the media commands us to follow. We also need to come to terms with celebrities being mere humans, like the rest of us and stop our pathetic worship of theses people.

Wacky Crimes

It's Friday and as such, let's avoid the heavy stuff. Today is daft criminal day again.

Our first tale comes from Chiefland, where a pocket knife wielding chap held up a Chevron store, telling the clerk that as he was in a wheelchair, the cops would not arrest him. The clerk claimed he had been in and out of the store many times that day in his electric powered wheel chair.
At around 10 pm our chair bound thief made his daring move and help up the clerk-who apparently tried to fight back and stabbed our highway robber three times in the leg, before he (wait for it) overpowered her.
Our 22 year old John Christopher Champion, then sped out the store with a twelve pack of beer and electrical wire.

As told by the Gainesville Sun, the police had no trouble finding the criminal who tried to make a fast getaway-he was found behind the store- stuck in sand and drinking a Bud Lite Lime....
He admitted to stealing the beer and tape- but denies robbing the store. Obviously police did not buy it and after his stab wounds were treated, it was off to the slammer.

Athens-Clarks country police responded to a call of domestic violence on Kennedy Circle in Athens. Upon arrival, they noted a lot of pushing and shoving going on and one person with an abdominal wound. Turns out 'after some words', Essie Mae Jones (48) decided to stab Johnny Michael Jones.
It goes without saying that our wild attacker was arrested.
However, before being taken into custody, our ninja had one reasonable request- that she be allowed to smoke her crack pipe before being arrested as she would not be able to smoke it in jail. This alerted officers to the crack pipe at her feet, and added another charge. Oh yes- because she took to stabbing old Johnny in front of her brats, child cruelty was added to the fast growing list of charges.

John H Michaud was in need of some crack coke and not having the money to make the buy, decided to go to the pharmacy to make a withdrawal. Our wanna be 'high'wayman, robbed a pharmacy on West Main street, New London at around midnight. He cleverly hid his disguise by wearing a ski mask. After indicating he had a gun, he demanded all the $20 bills.
Despite his fool proof plan and masterful disguise, Mr M had the wisdom to leave his jacket near the crime scene. And if that was not clever enough, there was a letter addressed to him in the pocket.

Police did not find him at his apartment but strangely he turned himself in the next day, admitting to buying good old drugs with his the money from his heist and treating himself to a night in the woods.
He pleaded guilty to second degree robbery and was awarded 5 years behind bars for his honesty.

Movie- Insidious

I am going to look at a movie from last year that I re -watched last night- Insidious. 

This movie comes from the creators of Paranormal Activity (which was more disturbing than scary) and Saw (which was more gory than scary.) and tells the story about Renai (Rose Bryne) and her loving husband (Patrick Wilson) who move house (the start of many ghost stories).

As usually occurs, strange things begin to happen (books that are packed away find themselves on the floor for example and things mysteriously vanishing-classic stuff). There is an attic, but strangely, it is not used much in the horror aspect.

Suddenly and unexpectedly their son, Dolton (Ty Simpkins), falls into a coma, that their doctor cannot explain, as he can find nothing medically wrong.
This is where the movie takes on another face and the really frightening things begin to happen. (Strange and creepy voices on the baby monitor, late night knocking on doors, the front door open by itself after being locked, a bloody hand print on Dalton's white sheets and so on.)

After seeing apparitions on night, they wisely decide to move but the horror follows them.
Renai sees a rocking horse rocking on it's own accord and a ghost child running amok.
Disturbed by a couple of further events, they call in paranormal investigators, who have their own encounters in the house.

I do not want to give anything away, other than the story takes a turn, that at first did not sit well, but on the second watching, I enjoyed. The last third of the film needs and open mind though. There are a few (well for me) silly moments, nut they do not ruin the film.
Of course, there is a lovely twist at the end!

It is scary and brings back the music, sound effects and ghostly things from the classic 80's movies. Just for the scares I would recommend this movies. On of the most frightening, real horrors I have seen in ages.

Midweek strange stories

We can assume that people who purchase sports cars do not like to be stuck in traffic. Okay, granted, nobody does, but those with sports cars even hate it more...just go with me on this one.
In San Francisco, an unnamed Porsche driver who was stuck in a bottleneck in traffic and noticed an empty lane. Our steering wheel genius, however, did nothing to establish if there was a reason the lane was empty and sped into the gap.
Turns out the highway had just been redone and the car sank into the newly layed cement. Workers had to hurry to dig the car out before the cement set and it became a permanent feature on the freeway.

Across the pond, we go to Sussex in England, where for 20 minutes, an undercover policeman searched for himself. He received a report of a suspicious character in the area he was. Guided by surveillance camera's the search lasted for almost half and hour until Constable sparky realized that he was indeed, Mr Suspicious.

Let's stick to England then. This time in Hull. As one does in a pub, Dean Dinnen likes to have a puff of his cigarette while downing some (warm I guess) Ale on tap. But as we all know, smokers are treated worse than anal warts and he was unceremoniously thrown out of The Endyke.
This was not the last they would hear from our Dean, oh no, it is not. Our Puffer responded as any rational person would, he came back to the pub, armed with a chainsaw and terrorized those who had not been tossed out.
Probably resembling a scene from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre mixed with Monty Python, you can imagine the scene of Dean and his power tool, bent on destruction and the fellow drinkers, trying to hold him back with bar stools. Okay, the picture in my mind is worth a chuckle.
Our wannabe killer was subdued and taken into police custody.

Cops drive with pigs on their cars

This is a story I have been wanting to write for a while, but other stuff seem to take priority. To me it is hilarious.

Inmates at Northwest State's Correction Facility in Vermont, had the brilliance to sneak an image of a pig into the Vermont State Police's decals, that was being made at the facility. This was an obvious reference to the derogatory nickname many people give the police. (Pigs for those who are not with it) The proper sign is not very wow either- a spotted cow against the backdrop of a snowy mountain with three mushroom objects to the left of the viewer.  It was one of the spots on the cow that took the shape of the offensive barnyard animal.

These police  crests adorned 30 police cruisers (In all 60 decals,16 inch in size, were plastered on the doors of the police vehicles)- for the past year. Well, until the porker spot was 'spotted' by a police employee, earlier in February 2012.
It appears that an inmate at St Alban prison's print shop, altered the image from a normal spot to the piggie on a computer back in 2008. The orders for new decals came in 2009. They were made with the new design.


Many people have seen the humour in this, except for the Fuzz. Police spokesperson, Stephanie Dasaro, said it dishonoured the memory of members of the pig force, specifically those who have perished. She did not get the joke.
Police Major Bill Sheets, bemoaned the costs to the tax payers. Plainly, he also did not get the humour in this prank. (Apparently the new decals cost around $780- a bit steep if you ask me)
An investigation is underway (surprise) to see where and who altered the image. An investigation should also be underway to identify the three mushroom type objects on the decals in my opinion.

To spank or not to spank..that is the question.

From what I gather, children from all over the world suffer from ill discipline. I know in South Africa it is becoming a growing problem. They have no respect for their parents , teachers or elders in general. As the rights of children grow, so does the protection afforded them and the more difficult it is becoming to reign in the ill discipline. I have spoken to teachers who cannot take it anymore. The children speak to the teachers with utter distaste, swear and insult then, assault them, do not even pretend to listen...and there are very little consequence to the children's action. There was even the case last years, where the pupil (learner in SA) attached a teacher and was expelled by the school but was allowed back by the Education Department.

Since the ANC government took over, corporal punishment at school has been made illegal. Now there is talk of banning parents from spanking their children and doing so, will see parents arrested for assault (to cause grievous bodily harm I guess). Corporal punishment at school has been ruled illegal in Canada, some American States, Kenya, New Zealand, Korea, most of Europe (not France though) and of course South Africa as mentioned earlier.
Parental or domestic corporal punishment is legal in most countries, often under restrictions though. 31 countries have banned it outright.

Psychologists and Philosophers seems to be anti this for a number of reasons. Some are, it is violent-it will encourage violence, it will lower self esteem, may instill anger and rage and will not reform the child, will train children to use physical violence and so on.  I am not going into great detail here as it is long and tedious.


Although many would try to convey corporal punishment as a brutal act, I for one am in favour of 'a good hiding' when a child misbehaves. For those who argue that this allows some parents to abuse their children, I contend that whether is is legal or not, abusers will abuse their children. Let's not be fooled laws will change this. Murder and rape is illegal, but people still break this law. So those who are abusers, will remain so, legislation or not.

Perhaps, as in some countries there should be legal guidelines- example no hitting a child on the head (seems obvious) or limiting the use of items used. Even limit the spanking area to the buttocks. Perhaps even state an age limit- say from 18 months or 2 years and up for example. There should be guidelines to separate discipline and abuse, and this will obviously be a very carefully drawn line.

My main argument against those who claim that children who are spanked for wrongdoing, grow up to be violent serial killers in training, I refer to many generations before this current over protected one. If they did wrong at school, they received a canning. It was limited to six strokes. And yes, it made children think twice before crossing the line as much as the scientists try to tell us it does not.
At home, when transgressing, spankings were handed out and surprisingly, it taught us discipline and respect of our parents. It did not make us hate our parents, again, as claimed by our scientists. Respect and discipline were not beaten into us, as is suggested, but we knew our place. Scientists will use specific examples to prove their point, yet ignore the majority who do not fall into their theory and have become normal adults.

The so called  experts are split on the topic to a degree. Studies have been done, and not surprisingly, many found corporal punishment to be negative upon a child. I do question this, as surely we can use the adult population in general, as case studies then. Most South Africans, who grew up prior to 2004,  were spanked at home and canned are school- yet amazingly they have risen against the odds and are normal functioning members of society. Granted there will be people with disorders- however, I am sure in 'non spanking countries' there are as well. They just have to find something else to blame there. For the majority though- we are surprisingly normal people, considering that we all should be insane or be riddled with disorders because of the merciless beatings we received.

I am not saying administer a hiding every day and for every transgression, but I do believe a child needs to know the limit and if he crosses it, there needs to be consequences. For me, one punishment is a spanking-even if it is the last resort. I know many will both agree and disagree. Strangely most people with children that I have spoken to, are pro spanking and those who opposed corporal punishment, had no children. Hardly a scientific study I do admit but parents need to be spoken to and their opinions heard.

Wacky Friday

In a way it is comforting to see government departments worldwide operate under the same cloud of incompetence.
We kick our lunatic story Friday focusing on the Land Registry in Britain. This department is tasked with the ownership of British land- a pretty responsible and important function.
Highly concerned about the delays in post piling up and therefor not dealt with(1 300 queries per day), senior officials commissioned the ' Post Opening Review', costing the tax payer some 5 000 Pounds. Seriously. A study to see which was the most efficient way to open post, something that is done worldwide on a day to day basis and presumably something these guys have loads of experience doing anyway. The 'Review' took a lengthy four months to complete and at the end, they arrived at the original idea of hiring more staff, as suggested in an internal memo prior to this well though out review.

Not funny but interesting, experts at New Mexico's State University have identified the hottest Chile on earth- it is the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. (Photo above so you can identify it and avoid it like the Ebola virus)
It scored an amazing 1,2 million units on the Scoville Heat Scale. (Some individual fruits boasted a 2 million unit measurement).
For those brave enough to eat this fruit, you will be interested to know that it is also the most flavourful- well, until your taste buds are burnt off.

Lastly we have a bazaar account from the states. Apparently a young paramedic is on call 24 hours a day- well, in a manner of speaking. Kandi Gay (above) sends and replies to text messages- while she is asleep and has no recollection of doing so upon waking. So far she has not sent any she regrets though.

A sleep expert, Dr Ashkay Mahadevia, in his infinite wisdom has looked into this and his brilliant advise to sufferers- Put your phones away when you are sleeping. Wow, such insight.

It is that it is claimed 70 million Americans suffer from some type of sleep disorder, but it is not stated how many, if any others, share this one. In 2008 a study was conducted into 'Sleep Mailing' after it was found an unnamed 44 year old woman suffered from this disorder. Guess our Good Doc would have cured this as well- by advising her to unplug the computer.

South Africa's disgusting rating

South Africa is a country with a reputation of magnificent natural beauty, with flourishing nature, with breath-taking landscapes- therefor it was a shock to discover that according to a Yale and Columbia University study, we have had the fastest environmental decline over the last 20 years. Again we are on the extreme end of the scale for the wrong reasons, ranked 128 out of 132 when it comes the Environmental Performance Index. 

( Number 1 was Switzerland, 2-Latvia, 3-Norway. The UK ranked 9 and the USA, 49. Australia came in at 48 and China 116.)

Notable, we 'achieved' the worst rating out of all the African countries studied. (Next worst was Tanzania-93 and Egypt-60) Even dysfunctional Zimbabwe rated 68, way higher than RSA. 

Coupled with this, we are number 11 in the world when it comes to pollution. 

The study, conducted on an annual basis, uses 22 indicators to measure 'human health, water quality, biodiversity and the management of conservation of ecosystems.' 

To make this even more disgusting, is that South Africa has been recognized as having some of the best environmental legislation globally. However, the government seems reluctant to act on this legislation. South Africa has also signed the Convention of Biodiversity Accord, committing to halve the current rate of biodiversity loss. 

The government turns a blind eye to companies who are known polluters, to compromised water systems, or the reliance on fossil fuels for energy and the destruction of natural fragile systems, like wetlands. They allow mining in environmentally sensitive areas and mines to operate with water licences. They are made aware of compromised water systems and the danger of rising acid mine-water- to no avail. 

A spokesman for the Department of Environmental Affairs admits that they are aware of the report, however, are unable to comment on it's credibility. Albi Modise, the spokesman, stated that the department assesses the environment on a 5 years basis, the next being at the end of the 2012 financial year. (The last was 2007) A comprehensive report by the CSIR on water resources was conducted last year and makes interesting reading.

A study like this and the CSIR one- both highlight grave problems and should be studied by the department and action taken immediately. Instead of simply brushing them aside, it should be a call to action.  (Due to government negligence and deliberate oversight, our electricity is under severe strain going into winter, with rolling blackouts a probability. Simply put, there is not enough power for the country. This is another result of brushing aside a report.)

Having said that, our government usually  has it's own agenda and from numerous reports, it seems money and power, are the priorities that the ANC led government concerns itself with. A little thing like the environment cannot get in the way if money is to be made. 

Soon the situation will be irreversible and it will be too late to turn back what damage has been done.

He who controls the courts...

One of the key elements for a functioning democracy is to have an independent Judicial system. The judicial system needs to be fair, represent the law and protect citizens, independent of the government of the day.

President Jacob Zuma (JZ) proudly announced that he sees 'a need to review the Constitutional Court's powers'. For those who do not know, the Constitutional Court (CC) is the highest court in South Africa and passes judgment of very sensitive issues. Once it has ruled, that is it for the legal process and the Judgment is set in stone. 

One of his concerns is split decisions and because of this, he argues that a majority judgment cannot be correct, because 'the judges themselves have different views.' The 'walking brain' goes on to say 'it is after experience that some of the decisions are not decisions that every judge in the Constitutional Court agrees with.' This seems a rather obvious statement as it seems not only obvious, but expected that people would disagree. Judges are no different.
By this statement we could assume JZ would like to appoint judges himself that would agree with each other and of course, him and his supporters. 

He also claims that judges were influenced by what's happening in general and by the media- and that if decisions of parliament and the executive could be questioned, then he sees no reason why the judiciary cannot also be questioned. This is a fair statement in that that judges are human, and thus would find some type of external influences. Having said this,to stop judges being influenced, Mr Pres would have to appoint a set of identical robots to the bench to do his bidding. It is going to happen as it does worldwide. We have to have faith in our highest judges to be fair-there really is no other option. 

JZ reminded the judiciary last year that their powers were not superior to the executive, who were elected by popular vote. During December last year, the ANC led cabinet decided, in their infinite wisdom, that they would assess judgments handed down by the constitutional court. This in itself to me is unconstitutional. Almost like a student marking his own exam without the correct answer sheet. 

It must be noted, that our brilliant President denies his attack on the CC is due to judgments going against himself and the presidency of late.
The presidency, in defense of their Boss, have stated that this step is needed 'to assess the trans formative nature of the court in the land in promoting equal, non-racial non-sexist and prosperous society' and is in line with the aforesaid cabinet decision.

This is a worrying step for a country that once looked like it would be the beacon for a working democracy in an otherwise dysfunctional Africa. The Constitutional Court is there to protect the citizens from laws and moves that will harm them and the country. In JZ's view, 'the executive, as elected officials, has the sole discretion to decide policies for government.' This is where the court's come in- to set a platform to challenge those that prejudice the country and the voters. Mr 'I will only serve one term' it seems has warmed up to the power presidency holds and is rallying his supporters, so we can be lucky enough to have him on top for another 4 years. We witnessed how his once loyal supporter, Malema, was cast to the wolves because he turned his allegiance. This indicated that Zuma is consolidating his support and doing what he can to secure another term.

Control over the media and the judiciary would be a Joker in his and the ANC's pack of evil playing cards. We, as the public would be at their mercy. We appear to be walking down the path that led China and Russia to be the great anti democracies they are today. To read into their statements, the ANC would like a state that they control on their terms, where they can continue wallowing in the money trough, carry on the lucrative corruption business and get filthy rich while the citizens suffer- all under the safe blanket of non accountability.
This may seem extreme, but it is the sad truth. The move against the judiciary together with the famous 'Media Bill' will hurt South Africa in ways we cannot imagine. Our official opposition will fight it with all they are, but they do not have the power to fight the ANC and should the courts be in the ANC pockets, then there will be no recourse.

We as citizens need to wake up and see what is happening. Thousands fought and died for the freedom we now enjoy. However, maintaining freedom is also a fight and we need to fight to preserve what we have because the JZ led government is going to snuff out what it can.

Changing face of bank notes

It was announced by the South African president, that Nelson Mandela's face would grace the South African banks notes henceforth. This has obviously started huge waves for and against the move.

Those for contend that Mandela has contributed so much towards a 'free' South Africa and our 'esteemed' President, JZ claims it is a fitting tribute to Mandela who was a symbol  of South Africa's struggle for freedom and democracy.
On the other side are those who argue that many other leaders contributed just as much to the struggle and thus, should also be honoured.

In my view, just the fact that there is disagreement, should be enough to just leave the notes as they are. Mandela has graced coins before and perhaps we should leave it at that. Granted Nelson has done lots for the progression to democracy but he has not been the only one.
Money is handled my millions daily and as petty as it may seem, the public's voice should be heard on this. As usual our ANC  led government have gone ahead with their own agenda for their own reasons. We as the public have little say, despite the fact that we pay them and they should be listening to us.

Back to the notes- with humans people will never agree with who should grace bank notes and which one should grace whicvh denomination. Leave the animals on as they represent South Africa's natural heritage, a heritage we need to be conserving and honouring. Our animal notes are very South African and I would see it as a disgrace to change them.

Politicians should come back down to earth.

Watching the people rolling in to hear Ol' JZ give the State of the Nation speech last week made me think back to one of my pet hates -politicians.

The first thing you notice are the million rand cars that deliver the so called VIP guests, all dressed in fashion that probably costs thousands of Rand. It was almost like watching the Oscars, just with more glitz and glamour. It is no secret that the food that is served at their get togethers rivals that of royalty and the booze they consume is nothing other than ridiculously expensive.

As it always does, it set me to thinking why politicians had to live such a high life. In a democratic country, we vote in a party and they pretty much work for us to run the country. These people are paid by us from our taxes. In essence, they work for us, to make our lives better. Or rather they are supposed to.

Why do they assume and act as though they are so important and that they deserve the 5 star treatment including VIP protection? Is there an assassin out to wipe them all out or is it just that it makes them feel untouchable when they have a legion of body guards? Sadly this is not limited to South Africa, or Africa, but is a worldwide phenomenon.
Look at the States, where senators and congressmen fly above the average Joe, expecting the red carpet treatment and unreachable unless it is election time.

In my most humble view this is rubbish! We as the public have allowed this behaviour to continue for so long, it is now not only accepted, but expected, of our so called leaders.

Firstly, to be a politician, it is a choice. Nobody is there by accident. Secondly, in my opinion, one should go into politics to help the nation and it's citizens. You should not go into it as a get rich scheme or for the power of the position. Sadly it would appear that this is what it is about.
If we look at our leaders, they pull massive salaries, live in palatial houses, are driven in luxury cars, followed by a train of other cars, full of VIP protection guards, fly the best classes, stay at the best hotels and so on. Unless it is voting season, trying to secure an audience with one is another story.

How wrong is this? I repeat- they work for us and should be answerable to us. Us, as the employer, should not allow them to waste out tax money on so much self indulgence when there is so much unemployment and poverty. I am sure they could live comfortable in a 5 bedroom house, drive a R500 000 car, fly pleb class around the country, stay in 3 star hotels and so on. Why do they honestly deserve to be treated like gold?
Half, if not more, do not even do all they are paid to do anyway. We need to accept that they are humans, like the rest of us and nothing really special. They do not deserve the platinum treatment they are receiving. The money they waste, could be much better spend in helping our country build and assisting the poor. They should be humbled by the fact that they are working for us. They should be grateful that they have an opportunity to make a difference.
Instead they live on a pedestal, out of touch with the reality that they are not as special as they want to think.
We as the public should make our stand.