Prime Hensopper en sy warmplaatwals

Prime Hensopper en sy warmplaatwals

Geskryf deur F. Lamprecht, Weltevredenpark

Saterdag, 28 Julie 2007

'Prime Hensopper'? Ek sien ou Prime Evil (alias Eugene de Kock) will nou vir Prime Hensopper (alias FW de Klerk) betrek by Apartheidsmisdade uit hul prostituut-begraafde NP verlede . . . Hiermee bietjie kommentaar op sommige aanhalings uit sy tranedal verweringe (”met ’n stem wat deurslaan van emosie”, volgens die Volksbladberig) in beide die BEELD en VOLKSBLAD oor hierdie jongste verwikkeling: 1. Hy reken dat hy nooit sy rug op sy voetsoldate sal draai nie So waarom het hy De Kock nie aangekeer reeds tydens die NP-bewind en hom aangekla van sy misdade as hy kwansuis buite regeringsbeleid opgetree het nie?! Indien De Kock wel binne beleid gewerk het, dan lieg FW mos nou, want De Kock krepeer jare reeds in die tronk !

Laatste opdatering ( Saterdag, 28 Julie 2007 )

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The Saga of South Africa's Economy

The Saga of South Africa's Economy
By Harry Valentine Posted on 4/27/2004 [Subscribe or Tell Others]

It was 10-years ago this month when South Africans of all races elected Nelson Mandela as their nation's first democratically-elected, post-apartheid president. South Africa's previous president, F.W. deKlerk, showed unprecedented statesmanship by having undertaken the bold move to end that nation's apartheid regime.
By the early 1990's and the economic and political collapse of the former USSR and Soviet bloc, the South African government could no longer justify its brutal enforcement of apartheid as a means by which to combat the threat of a Soviet-inspired communist takeover of South Africa. The official end of apartheid offered the prospect of new hope for a nation of disenfranchised people who were oppressed as a result of the combination of the color of their skin and their ancestral heritage.
South Africa's system of apartheid became officially institutionalized after the Anglo-Boer war. In 1910, one of the Boer generals who fought against the British, General Louis Botha, became the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. The Union of South Africa's economy initially depended heavily on such labor-intensive industries as mining and agriculture.
Large numbers of relatively poorly educated non-white South Africans became the nation's single largest source of labor. The high demand for low-cost, low-skilled non-white labor which was abundant in the labor-intensive economy, made racial segregation easy to introduce and initially easy to enforce. Wage rates were based on racial background, that is, white workers were paid more than black workers doing the same work.
Before 1920 and during the early years of apartheid, the majority of the small number of educated non-white South Africans saw the white-dominated economy and apartheid as having resulted from a free-market capitalist economy. They subsequently looked to communism and socialism as the ideologies that would offer equality and opportunity to South Africa's oppressed non-white people. Pro-socialist pamphlets circulated among literate African workers before 1920. Before the onset of World War Two, South Africa had a communist party and a socialist party called the Unity Movement. At the present day, a sizeable segment of South Africa's population still sees Marxism as the road to economic relief and prosperity.
When Mandela was elected to govern South Africa in 1994, he appointed elected parliamentarians such as communist party leader Joe Slovo to high-ranking government posts. South Africa now has a high rate of taxation, restrictive labor laws, is Africa's largest welfare state and has Africa's largest, most politically well-connected and politically influential labor union movement. As a result of the new South Africa's restrictive labor laws and affirmative action policies, a large number of educated white South Africans chose to emigrate to other nations. This response angered and dismayed former president Mandela, who had previously acknowledged that South Africa needed its educated white population to help rebuild the nation's economy.
Affirmative action achieved in the new South Africa what job apartheid had achieved in the old South Africa. In the old South Africa, certain professions had been reserved for "whites only," meaning that only qualified and educated white people could be hired to fill selected vacant posts during the 1960's and 1970's. As a result, large numbers of educated non-white South Africans that included professionals as well as trained and qualified non-white tradespeople, emigrated abroad to where greater freedom of opportunity was available to them in several other nations. The more recent emigration of entrepreneurial types from South Africa has impacted on the unemployment rate.
At the present day, a sizeable segment of South Africa's population still sees Marxism as the road to economic relief and prosperity.At the present day, an estimated 42% or 8-million employable non-white South Africans are unemployed. The unemployment among this segment of the population is higher today than at any time during the apartheid era. During the mid-1970's, the United Nations revealed that despite apartheid and despite South Africa's disparity in wage rates, black people in South Africa earned a higher per capita annual income than black people living elsewhere in sub-Sahara Africa. During the 1980's and early 1990's, the anti-apartheid movement promoted the concept of "revolution before education," encouraging thousands of non-white students to abandon their formal schooling.
Many mainly non-white South Africans have never attended a school, including thousands in the 20 to 30 age group who are deemed to be unemployable in an economy that presently has little need for an abundance of unskilled manual labor. This situation has contributed to South Africa's skyrocketing crime rate which has reached epidemic levels. Following South Africa's ban on gun ownership, disarmed citizens in record numbers have fallen victim to crime, including to armed gangs of criminals. This crime epidemic has not only overwhelmed a police force coping with low morale and a high officer suicide rate, it has also discouraged foreign as well as expatriate entrepreneurs and business people from bringing new investment into South Africa, to further develop and grow the economy.
South Africa's present day economics minister, Trevor Manuel, is a firm believer in Keynesian economic theory and regards it as the economic system that best offers hope for his nation's economic future. He rejected the idea of an all-out socialist economic system since his days as an anti-apartheid freedom fighter. The economic policies upon which he intends to build South Africa's economic future, are based mainly on a Keynesian framework.
It may be of little relevance to South Africa's post-apartheid era government that Keynesian economic theories formed the economic basis of apartheid after the late 1950's. Keynesian theories have long been discredited, refuted and debunked by such noted free-market economists as F.A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard and Henry Hazlitt. During South Africa's apartheid era, Ludwig Lachman introduced several progressively thinking young South African minds to the rudiments of the free-market economic system when he taught economics at the University of the Witwatersrand.
During the early part of the 20th century, as the policy of official apartheid became institutionalized, technical innovations that gradually and progressively increased labor productivity, began to be introduced into South Africa's fledgling economy. As the mechanization of South Africa's growing industrial base increased, productivity increased as did earnings and savings in a variety of industries, allowing new wealth to be created.
After the Nationalist Party was elected to office in 1948, state spending on apartheid increased, but not enough to stall economic growth. The standard of living for a wide cross-section of working South Africans gradually improved through the early and mid 20th century, steadily raising the status and salary levels of several job categories. Under apartheid, white South Africans benefited the most. By the early 1960's, the South African government enacted its job apartheid policy that protected higher-status, preferred job categories for "whites only."
This mercantilist/Keynesian practice of job market-entry restriction caused many educated, trained and qualified non-white South Africans to emigrate from South Africa, beginning in the early 1960's. By the late 1970's, White-owned businesses discovered the downside to job apartheid, when they were forbidden by law from hiring qualified non-white candidates, despite an absence of suitable white applicants. Several businesses revised job titles so as to hire non-white candidates, who would perform professional level duties. As a result, a growing number of white South Africans were to discover that their job security and even the competitiveness of the companies they worked for, often came to depend on the ability and skill of their educated, non-white colleagues.
The South African government eventually revised the job apartheid laws, allowing businesses to hire qualified non-whites for previously reserved occupations. Technological progress continually increased business and industrial productivity and as a result, steadily increased the demand for increasing numbers of qualified job candidates. By the early 1980's, increasing numbers of educated, middle-class black professional people began to achieve prominence in South Africa's economy. Work place apartheid gradually began to disintegrate. At this point in time, an increasing number of white business owners came to realize the extent to which the viability of their businesses depended on their non-white employees and their non-white customers.
By the mid to late 1980's, large state expenditures causing massive debts were being incurred in administering and refining apartheid, including maintaining independent black states inside South Africa. Massive military expenditures were also being incurred at this point in time to defend the decaying apartheid system from its opponents. Massive amounts of money (savings) that could otherwise have been used to create new wealth, were wasted by the government of P.W. Botha and his defense minister General Magnus Malan, who claimed that they were defending South Africa from a communist-inspired take over, ignoring the fact that most communist countries were on the brink of economic collapse.
South Africa's epidemic of state spending to prop up a decaying apartheid system during its final years, reflected comments published by Keynes in General Theory about the alleged economic benefits of state spending. If Keynes's theory was valid, then an economically prosperous and viable economic system based on apartheid, complete with independent black states (homelands) inside South Africa, should still have been functioning at the present day. South African government spending to defend apartheid during the 1980's perhaps inflicted more damage on South Africa's economy than the economic sanctions imposed on South Africa could ever have achieved. Excess state spending during apartheid's last years incurred a massive deficit that now impedes economic growth in the post-apartheid South Africa.
South Africa's post-apartheid era leadership needs to heed two ideas from the previous regime, one being that excess state spending becomes economically destructive in the long term, the other being that economic regulation fails to achieve in the long term what policy planners intend to achieve in the short term. During South Africa's early post-apartheid years, government officials and people connected to them embraced Keynesian spending theory with overwhelming enthusiasm. They are alleged to have misspent, misallocated and malinvested such astronomical sums of money that claims of high-level corruption abounded in South Africa. That spending windfall did next to nothing to create the needed wealth that was essential to regrow South Africa's economy.
South Africa's long term economic future appears bleak due to the policies that the nation's government has already enacted. The disarming of the civilian population has left it at the mercy of armed criminals. Its economic regulations have restricted badly needed wealth creation and economic growth, while the Keynesian spending spree achieved a similar end.
South African government officials have put their trust in the policy guidelines and loans from the IMF, but the projects they funded have not created any new wealth in South Africa's economy. The water development project they funded is resulting in mass evictions of South Africa's unemployed and poor people. In view of these developments, the South African economy may be expected to languish in the doldrums for a few more years, until some senior government officials finally, if ever, read through the pages of Human Action or of Man, Economy and State, or both

http://www.mises.org/story/1501

Murder in South Africa: a comparison of past and present, first edition

www.gunowners.org

http://www.gunowners.org/fs0304.htm

Oct 2003
Murder in South Africa: a comparison of past and present, first edition
This paper looks at a history of murder in South Africa. The official statistics in the New South Africa (since 1994) show that violent crime has had the greatest increase of all crime categories. Murder is a sub-category of "violent crime". The official state statistics claim that while, since 1994, all sub-categories of "violent crime" are on the increase, murder is the only sub-category on the decrease. However, these statistics are contested, for example, Interpol have South African murder statistics that are roughly double the official South African state statistics, while the South African Medical Research Council claim there are roughly a third more murders in South Africa than the official police statistics reveal. This castes doubt on the New South African government's claim that the murder rate has in fact decreased since 1994.
Written by: Rob Mc Cafferty (M. Ed)Communications Director United Christian Action Date: June 2003
Murder in South Africa: a comparison of past and present
Brief
The brief of this research was to investigate the extent of the number of murders in the "Old South Africa" (under apartheid) compared to the "New South Africa" (post 1994). I have extended it slightly, to include an international comparison, a brief review of the criminal justice system and possible explanations for South Africa’s high crime rate as articulated in the literature.
Methodology
I have read an overview of the literature on the topic, examining criminology journals, websites (especially those related to crime statistics, for example, the South African Police Services (SAPS), Crime Information Analysis Centre (CIAC), Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Interpol websites) as well as reviewing the major newspapers on crime statistics and related issues. Particular references are made to the Mail & Guardian. Because the web searches proved incomplete, I did a library search at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Government Library to review original source documents in an attempt to make sense of the crime statistics prior to 1994, which are not readily available. It was here that I sourced government archives of annual police reports dating back to 1950 which contain statistics on reported murders and also the Central Statistics Service: Statistics of Offence reports (CSS) which records all convictions of crimes. The courts forward these statistics to the CSS who in turn record them in reports. With these statistics I went back to the year 1949. From here I entered the data into excel worksheets, made calculations and plotted graphs. I refer to the SAP and CSS reports as the "source documents".
Problems with crime statistics in general
"The year 1994 is used as a base year, as detailed and accurate crime statistics from station to national level were first made publicly available by the SAPS in that year." (Sibusiso Masuku, p.17. FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE: South African crime trends in 2002)
It is difficult to get crime statistics prior to 1994. For example, on the South African Police Services (SAPS) official website, they only have crime statistics from 1994 onwards (the year of the "New South Africa"). However I managed to access original source documents, which includes SAP annual reports going back to 1950, and CSS reports which documents both the number of prosecutions and convictions, going back to 1949. (see p.15 for details).
Crime statistics do not tell us everything and can be incredibly misleading as the following examples portray:
Canada has the second highest rate of recorded rape in the world (267 per 100,000), second only to Estonia in the UNDP statistics.
The rate of drug crimes in Switzerland (574 per 100,000) is more than 10 times that of Colombia (40 per 100,000).
The rate of total crimes in Denmark (10 508 per 100,000) is more than five times that of the Russian Federation (1 779 per 100,000) and more than 100 times that of Indonesia (80 per 100,000).
Amongst the explanations given for these discrepancies within the literature includes the fact that countries have different legal and criminal justice systems. Crime definitions vary from one country to the next. For example, a serious assault in one country may be recorded as an attempted murder somewhere else. Moreover, what constitutes a recordable crime in one country might not be a criminal offence in another (South Africa World crime capital? Published in Nedbank ISS Crime Index Volume 5 2001 Number 1, January-February).
Furthermore it needs to be considered,
The likelihood of victims reporting crime, and the police recording them, is not the same in every country. Crime victims are less likely to report crime in a country with an oppressive or incompetent police force than in a country where the police are helpful and trustworthy. The distances people have to travel to the nearest police station, and the availability of transport to get there, is another factor which can affect crime reporting rates.
Multiple offences are not recorded uniformly in all countries. In some countries only the most serious offence reported in a single incident is recorded while in others all offences reported are recorded.
Differences in data quality between countries is also a factor. In developed countries, recorded crimes are entered into a computerised database and channelled to a central point for analysis. In many less developed countries, crime statistics are recorded only on paper which can easily result in the loss of some of the statistics.
It is estimated that victim surveys uncover between 60% and 70% more crime than that reported by official sources (Ibid.).
The use of recorded crime as a performance measure in the current South African context is especially problematic, as research in this country shows that upwards of 50% of crime in many important categories goes unreported. Historic distrust between the police and the public has led to the failure of many communities to report crime, and as this relationship improves (partly due to successful police outreach and performance), it will affect the crime rate. This is particularly true for interpersonal crimes such as domestic violence and rape, where growing consciousness of human rights, teamed with a more victim-friendly legal and procedural framework, should enhance reporting. (Ted Leggett. IMPROVED CRIME REPORTING: Is South Africa’s crime wave a statistical illusion?)
According to Ted Leggett, "the increase in reported crime since 1994 may well be due in part to the progressive enfranchisement of the majority of the population, including greater access to commodities that are known to boost reporting, such as vehicles, telephones and property insurance" (Ibid.).
The question then follows, what are the official crime statistics, especially as regards murder and attempted murder?
Crime Statistics in South Africa – murder and attempted murder
According to Interpol, South Africa’s overall crime rate is comparable to other developed countries. However, what sets South Africa’s crime apart from basically every other country on earth, is the incredibly high levels of violent crime.
It is common for the literature to claim that crime statistics in the Old South Africa were "unreliable" (although little explanation is offered as to why), however the new statistics are "still unreliable" (Ibid.). At one stage the current government imposed a moratorium on crime stats. Although they repeatedly claimed that this was not to hide the problem of excessively high crime rates in South Africa, opposition parties protested otherwise. The government maintained that the purpose of the moratorium was to put systems in place that would ensure accurate crime stats. They were referring to the new computerised Geographic Information System (GIS), which, as of June 2001, had been implemented at 340 priority police stations covering 80% of the country. However after the moratorium was lifted, it has been asserted by the media that the crime stats remained "unreliable" because they were still based on the old system of collecting information about crime (M&G, 'Unreliable' crime stats released to SA, 01 Jun 2001). However, Antoinette Louw, head of the Crime and Justice Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, found that at "no stage" were the problems of data accuracy of "such an extent that a moratorium on the release of crime statistics to the public was necessary" (M&G, Crime stats the govt hides from you, 06 Apr 2001). It appears then that the crime stats still are not and never have been very particularly reliable, however they are accurate enough to provide us with some indication of the crime levels in South Africa.
What has happened since 1994?
"When comparing crime figures of April 2001 to March 2002 with that of the same period in 1994/95, the number of (overall) crimes increased by 20%. (Sibusiso Masuku, p.17. FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE: South African crime trends in 2002). Leggett claims, "It was not unexpected that the arrival, in 1994, of a democratic government should lead to a dramatic increase in crime reporting." (IMPROVED CRIME REPORTING: Is South Africa’s crime wave a statistical illusion?)

Violent crime
In the past seven years (1994/95 to 2000/01), violent crime increased by 33%, the highest increase in any crime category (Sibusiso Masuku, p.18. FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE: South African crime trends in 2002).
What is violent crime?
Sibusiso Masuku distinguishes between two types of violent crime:
Interpersonal violent crime – "murder, attempted murder, serious and common assaults, and rape"; and
Violent property crime – "all categories of robbery, i.e. robbery with aggravating circumstances (armed robbery, car hijacking etc.) and common robbery" (PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE: Addressing violent crime in South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. Published in SA Crime Quarterly No 2, November 2002).
The following graph (Figure 1) shows the increase in violent crime since the inception of the New South Africa in 1994.

Murder
As Masuku points out, the graph below shows that "murder decreased by 18% in the past seven years and by 2% in the past 12 months" (p.19. FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE: South African crime trends in 2002). This decrease needs to be considered critically. Masuku points out that "it is unusual for murder rates to decline while other forms of violent crime are increasing, and this trend is particularly striking because the percentage of murders committed with a firearm has increased." All other violent crimes, such as attempted murder, serious assault and rape had continued to rise (M&G, Mbeki pulled up over crime figures, 09 Feb 2001). In fact murder is the only violent crime that is reported to be in decline since the inception of the New South Africa.
The following graph (Figure 2) shows the unusual trend in that reported murders are decreasing, while attempted murder is steadily increasing. It is important to point out that never in South Africa’s history has attempted murder exceeded (or even approached) actual murder except in the New South Africa. One therefore shudders to think of comparing the total number of murders and attempted murders in the Old and New South Africa’s.
Contested statistics
While government, through the release of these figures, claims that murder is said to be in decline, not everyone agrees. A recent report by the Medical Research Council (MRC) states otherwise. While police crime statistics show there were 21,683 murders in 2000, the MRC puts the figure at 32,482. The MRC's estimate is close to the figure from the Department of Home Affairs, which is 30,068. This is a third more murders than reported by the SAPS. A discrepancy of more than 10,000 murders is more than a "margin of error".
The MRC's revelation of serious under-registration and misclassification in the government's death statistics was gleaned from various sources, including the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System, a body supported by the Department of Health and the Department of Science and Technology. The system gathers information on "non-natural" deaths from 37 mortuaries in six provinces (note that South Africa now has nine provinces). The cause-of-death profile estimated in their study "differs substantially from the findings of the sample of death records processed by Stats SA for 1997-2001", the MRC reports reads (The Sunday Independent, Shock report doubles road death toll, May 25 2003).
According to a brochure "Fight Crime: Put 150,000 cops on the streets where you live", produced by the official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) the average daily murder rate in South Africa is 55 murders committed every day. However, if we use the MRC statistics, there are 89 murders committed on average every day in South Africa.
Interpol, claims even higher numbers of murders in South Africa. Interpol claimed that there were approximately double the numbers of "murders known to police" in South Africa than the official police statistics reveal. This is substantial, for example, while the SAPS claims there were 26,883 murders in 1995/96, Interpol claims there were 54,298.
If there is any error in official statistics, they appear to be erring on the side of serious under-reporting. The reason for this under-reporting could be the desire to change the growing reputation of South Africa as the "crime capital of the world", this title is one any government would desperately want to lose as it would cause any potential investor to take his money elsewhere. Furthermore, it is an embarrassment to a government desperate to live up to the image of the New South Africa – liberated and peaceful.
Nevertheless, even if we take the official crime statistics as authoritative, how does the murder rate in the New South Africa compare to the Old?
Murder – up or down?
As stated earlier, it is incredibly difficult to find information that compares the current murder rate with the past murder rate as the stats are not readily available. Perhaps these figures are concealed for political reasons. Nevertheless, I went to the original source documents of the annual police reports and CSS: Statistics of Offence annual reports to get the following statistics.
The following graph (Figure 3) reveals the marked increase in murders over the past half century. (Note that the figures used in the analysis includes South West Africa, currently Namibia, which was a protectorate of South Africa, until 1990. These do not however make a substantial increase to the "Old South African" crime statistics, as they averaged about 75 murders per annum).
This equates to 309,583 murders from the year 1950 to 1993 (44 years – averaging 7,036 per year), meanwhile according to SAPS statistics, 193,649 murders were committed in 8 years after the "new democratic dispensation" came to power, thus giving an average of 24,206 per year (crime statistics for 2002/03 are not yet available). However if we consider the Interpol statistics, which are only available on their website for the years, 1995-1999 and 2001 (6 years), the number of persons murdered in South Africa within those 6 years is 287,292 – averaging 47,882 per year. Clearly the new government is not winning the war on crime, especially violent crime. These averages compare as follows (Figure 4):
The Nedcore Project concludes that "South and Southern Africa are probably the most murderous societies on earth, even with probable under-reporting" (The Nedcore Project, 1996: 6).
How does South Africa’s current murder rate compare internationally?
Murder is the most suitable crime to compare between countries. There are few definitional disputes about what constitutes a murder and most murders are recorded because the evidence of the crime, in the form of the body of the victim, is rarely concealed permanently. In 1998 South Africa had the highest recorded per capita murder rate of the countries selected in the 1998 Interpol report. In 1998 there were 59 recorded murders in South Africa per 100,000 of the population, followed by Colombia with 56 murders per 100,000. While Nambia’s murder rate was high (45 per 100,000) the murder rate in Swaziland was approximately a third of South Africa’s and Zimbabwe’s less than one-sixth (Figure 5 and 6).
Figure 5: Number of murders recorded per 100 000 of the population, 1998
Source: Interpol 1998, CIAC 1998
Figure 6: International Murder Rates, 1998
Note that while 59 persons per100,000 were recorded murdered per 100,000 in South Africa, only 6 per 100,000 were reorded in the USA.
While violent crime makes up nearly a third of all South African crimes recorded, and South Africa experiences remarkably high levels of recorded violent crime, levels of recorded property crime appear to be comparable to those in other countries.
This is confirmed by Crime Information Analysis Centre (CIAC) crime data between 1994 and 1999 according to which one out of three crimes recorded in South Africa involves violence or the threat of violence. (See Nedbank ISS Crime Index Vol 4, No 3, pp. 1—4). According to Interpol, Australia had high levels of recorded serious assaults in 1998, but had lower levels of robbery and violent theft and very low levels of murder. Colombia had high levels of recorded murders — possibly because of the low-intensity civil war that has been raging in that country for some time — but low levels of recorded robbery and violent theft and serious assaults. It is only in South Africa where recorded levels of all three categories of serious violent crimes were exceptionally high of the countries covered in the Interpol report.
It is South Africa’s high level of violent crime which sets the country apart from other crime ridden societies. This finding is supported by CIAC data indicating that since 1994 recorded violent crime has been escalating at a faster rate than any other crime category (by 33%). It is primarily violent crime which fuels people’s fear of crime. To lose its label as crime capital of the world, violent crime levels have to drop substantially in South Africa.
Who are the primary victims of South Africa’s high murder rate?
Police statistics and victim surveys conducted in South Africa also suggest a link between social depravation, race, and risk of victimisation. Victim surveys conducted from 1997 to 2000 show that the poor, the majority of whom are black and coloured and living in townships, are more at risk of being victims of interpersonal violent crimes as well as violent property crimes like robbery. By comparison, wealthy people living in the suburbs are most at risk of property crimes, in particular vehicle theft and burglary. In the 1999 National Mortality Surveillance System data, homicides of black and coloured people accounted for 93% of the 6,800 homicides reported. (This is higher than the 86% that these race groups make up of the total population recorded in the 1996 census.) (Sibusiso Masuku, PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE: Addressing violent crime in South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. Published in SA Crime Quarterly No 2, November 2002). This reveals a consistent pattern. Throughout South Africa’s history, as revealed by the source documents, going back half a century, the vast majority of homicides and murders were committed by non-whites on/to non-whites.
People’s perceptions of crime
In a number of victim surveys conducted in South Africa since 1996, rape was described as one of the most widely feared crimes, second only to murder (Ibid.).
The Nedcore Project claims that the results of surveys "underscore the fact that crime has become South Africa’s pre-eminent sociological problem. It now eclipses even unemployment in concerns of all South Africans" (The Nedcore Project, 1996: 10).
What is the response of the SAPS to the high levels of crime?
Besides imposing a moratorium on crime statistics, the SAPS has gone out of its way to lose the title of "crime capital of the world", by making bizarre comparisons, for example, according to Leggett (Response of SAPS - IMPROVED CRIME REPORTING: Is South Africa’s crime wave a statistical illusion?) their most recent quarterly statistical report claims:
Murder rates are compared between Washington, D.C., the city with the highest murder rates in the US, and Pretoria, which has the lowest murder rates of any major city in South Africa – presumably on the basis that they are both capitals.
Johannesburg is compared to Diadema, Sao Paolo, Brazil in 1999, not on the basis that the two areas are in any way comparable, but because Diadema is one sliver of the world that once had a higher murder rate.
‘Very serious violent crimes’ make up just over 10% of overall crime, with the bizarre conclusion that the ‘chances of becoming a victim of serious violent crime are just over one out of ten crimes reported to the police’.
Organised crime makes a dramatic increase in the New South Africa
A report from the World Economic Forum said South Africa's organised crime was second only to Colombia's, with its frightening drug cartels, and Russia's, with its omni-present mafia. This is very feasible as there is widespread corruption in the South African Police Service - 1996 figures show one in four police officers in the greater Johannesburg were under criminal investigation.
Mark Shaw, at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), argues that "crime grows most rapidly in periods of political transition and violence, when state resources are concentrated in certain areas only and gaps emerge in which organised criminal gangs may operate". He cites the former Soviet Union as the most obvious example.
But it does appear that the political and diplomatic isolation of South Africa during the apartheid years protected it to some extent from the organised-crime phenomenon which was rapidly going international in tandem with the growth of the "global village" (M&G, SA crime is getting organized, 13 Feb 1998).
The extent of organised crime in South Africa is revealed by the following quote: "Intelligence estimates indicate that organised crime has doubled under the new government. Police estimates further suggest that there are currently about 700 extremely well-financed and superbly armed crime syndicates operating in and from South Africa." However, police admitted (in October 1996) that not a single ringleader of any of the 700 crime syndicates operating in South Africa has been arrested and only 192 syndicates are being investigated (M&G, Police can't cope with organised crime, Gustav Thiel, 23 Oct 1997).
However, despite the rapid increase in these syndicates, organized crime accounts for very little of the direct murders, as they are more into "drug-trafficking, money-laundering, weapon-smuggling, vehicle theft, trafficking in endangered species, people-smuggling and smuggling of precious metals and stones" (Claasen, p. 183, Statistics, perspectives and perceptions: Interpreting crime and violence in South Africa). The CIAC comments that, according to the available information, it seems as if organised crime may, contrary to popular belief, contribute much less directly than indirectly to the crime scoreboard as far as violent crime is concerned. For example, it seems as if hijackings - which are mostly organised - at most contribute about 60 murders per annum to the + 25 000 murders committed per year (that is only 0.2% of the total volume of murders). The same apply to bank robberies and robberies of cash in transit (± 100 persons, which represent 0.4% of all murders).
The failure of the criminal justice system
Sibusiso Masuku points out that only half of all murder cases are sent to court. In 2000 only 49% of murder cases were sent to court, while only 4,007 resulted in a guilty verdict (p.20. FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE: South African crime trends in 2002).
The ANC government (especially the Minister of Safety and Security) makes incessant claims that crime statistics have been dropping since 1994. However the Mail and Guardian, claims otherwise – "Despite the president's boast that South African crime statistics are improving - with reductions in the incidence of some serious categories of offences - other figures showing the decline of convictions suggest that the forces of law and order are alarmingly on the retreat. Convictions for using and dealing in drugs, for example, collapsed from 46 468 in 1991/92 to 19 895 in 1995/96" (M&G, SA crime is getting organized, 13 Feb 1998).
The same can be said for murder convictions. From the data I collected from the source documents, I calculated the number of convictions as follows (see graph below – Figure 7). (Note that I added "Infanticide" to the total number of murders. Also, unfortunately source documents were not available for the years 1964 and 1983. However, one is still able to plot the general trend).
It is worthwhile to compare the number of reported murders with the number of convictions (Figure 8).
While the convictions show a marked increase, the graph is not nearly as steep as that for the reported murders, especially as regards the early 1990’s where steps were being taken towards dismantling apartheid. This same trend of low prosecution and conviction rates continues with even more alarming disparities into the new dispensation.
The failure of the criminal justice system is portrayed by the following statistics, for every 1,000 crimes committed in South Africa, only 430 criminals are arrested, furthermore, only 77 are convicted and despite the huge numbers of serious crimes of violence committed (remember a third of all South Africa’s crime is violent), only 8 are sentenced to 2 or more years of imprisonment. Further, it is estimated that South Africa has a 94% recidivism rate (i.e. 94% of all persons released after serving a sentence immediately become involved in crime again). Only 1 of the 8 actually gives up criminal activity (The Nedcore Project, 1996: 5).
Explanations offered for South Africa’s high violent crime rate
Several explanations are put forward with the literature and are worth noting. These "include a low standard of education, a lack of social and vocational skills, poor housing and living conditions, a lack of parenting skills, and so forth." (Sibusiso Masuku, p.24. FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE: South African crime trends in 2002). Sibusiso Masuku also notes that "at a community and neighbourhood level, violent crimes are influenced by factors such as overcrowding, poor housing design, and a lack of infrastructure and development" (PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE: Addressing violent crime in South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. Published in SA Crime Quarterly No 2, November 2002).
Alcohol abuse clearly goes hand in hand with South Africa’s culture of violence – "according to the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System, 56% of 2,469 homicide victims sampled for blood alcohol level tested positive" (Ibid.). "Firearms are used in most violent crimes reported to the police. About 10,854 (49%) of murders recorded by the police in 2000 were committed with a firearm" (Ibid.). It is interesting to note that the increase in murders with firearms is a fairly recent phenomenon in South Africa, picking up most likely around the time of the ANC’s call to the armed struggle. Furthermore, it is quite probable that the many organised crime operations in South Africa indirectly affects the "murder using a firearm" rate, by supplying illegal firearms onto the market while the police are clearly failing in their efforts to curb these syndicates.
The CIAC offers some interesting socio-economic explanations:
It is internationally accepted that urbanisation of the youth (especially the 15 to 29 years age group) and the accompanying social processes are extremely conducive to crime. In South Africa the role of rapid, abnormally high rates of urbanisation (and urban unemployment) should never be under-estimated. Up to 1986, the majority of blacks (Africans) were confined to the rural areas by Influx Control Measures which were part of the apartheid system. In the overcrowded rural situation the majority were unemployed, but even so they could rely on the extended family (social network) and subsistence economy to at least fulfil the basic needs for food, clothing and shelter. Rural life is also plain and simple, with no real relative deprivation or extravagant aspirations. When influx control was removed in 1986 it released a massive urbanisation process which would under natural circumstances have started three - five decades earlier. A "compacted" urbanisation consequently happened in + 13 years. In reality, we have not seen the end of urbanisation yet - at least 50% of the black population (aged 15 - 29 years) remained in rural areas in 1996 (according to the last Census). It should also be remembered that, added to this compacted internal urbanization within South Africa, a massive influx of especially young work-seekers (economic refugees) to our cities from especially neighbouring countries, but also from as far afield as Nigeria, Morocco, Europe and China also occurred. It is estimated that at least 6 million undocumented immigrants live in especially our cities. The people who migrate to the cities (urban areas) first are the young (18 - 30 years old). In the cities they encounter massive unemployment, with no extended family (social support network) and subsistence economy to support their basic needs. In the cities the only support they may find is within the peer group. A very strong sense of relative deprivation and resultant rising expectations may also develop. The difference between rich and poor in the city is very obvious and stark. At the same time the material belongings of the rich is considered to be the measure of success.
The CIAC also notes the legacy of South Africa’s turbulent past on the current culture of violence:
During the years of political struggle (especially the eighties and the early nineties) many members of the former security forces and liberation armies were trained in guerilla warfare skills like intelligence gathering, ambush techniques, the handling of firearms and explosives, etc. Many of these combatants are now out of work and many of these skills can be used to commit hijackings, house and business robberies, bank robberies and robberies of cash in transit.
However, Leggett (IMPROVED CRIME REPORTING: Is South Africa’s crime wave a statistical illusion?) points that the "easiest way for the police to reduce the crime rate is simply to do nothing but record only those crimes where a case number is absolutely mandatory, such as cases involving deaths or insured property." (PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE: Addressing violent crime in South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. Published in SA Crime Quarterly No 2, November 2002).
It is clear from the data, graphs and statistics that the current high levels of violent crime really began to escalate around the early 1990s, while the rate of convictions did not nearly keep pace. It was at this same time that South Africa suspended the death penalty (the death penalty was suspended in 1989 and abolished in 1996). Considering that only 8 out of every 1000 crimes committed in South Africa receives a two or more year jail sentence, it would be interesting to discover how many of these murders were repeat offences, and how the suspension of the death penalty as a deterrent has fuelled the culture of violence. Despite countless calls for the return of the death penalty, calls for referendums and victims rights, the current South African government is determined not to reinstate the death penalty claiming that to do so would contradict the new Constitution. However, I did not find any reference to the impact of the death penalty and its suspension, later abolition, in the literature I reviewed.
Conclusion
It is clear from this study that violent crime has continued to climb faster than any other category of crime in the New South Africa. The only apparent category of violent crime that is in decline is murder. However, the Medical Research Council, the Department of Home Affairs and Interpol all seem to agree that South Africa’s murder rate is far higher than the official statistics show. Nevertheless, regardless of what may be the reasons for this apparent under-reporting, South Africa has earned the title of the "crime capital of the world" – especially as regards violent crime. While crime rates are increasing, conviction rates are decreasing (or certainly not keeping pace), thus adding to the South Africa’s "culture of violence". Although explanations are offered to explain this phenomenon of violence in the New "liberated and peaceful" South Africa, they appear to be inadequate. Perhaps it should be argued for the reinstatement of the death penalty. While the people on the ground would support such a call, their desires are suppressed by the Constitution and a ruling elite averse to its reinstatement.
Bibliography
Claasen, J.J. Statistics, perspectives and perceptions: Interpreting crime and violence in South Africa. In "Violence, truth and prophetic silence", Ed. Du Toit, C.W., 2000. Research Institute for Theology and Religion. UNISA, Pretoria.
Crime Information Analysis Centre. South African Police Services. The generators of crime in South Africa.
DA brochure. Fight crime! Put 150 000 cops on the streets where you live.
Glanz, L., Mostert, W.P. & Hofmeyr, B.E. 1992. An analysis of South African crime statistics: Convictions for the period 1956 to 1988. HSRC, Pretoria.
Institute for Security Studies. South Africa: World crime capital? Published in Nedbank ISS Crime Index, Volume 5, 2001, Number 1, January-February.
Interpol. International crime statistics, South Africa: 1995.
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Leggett, T. Improved crime reporting: Is South Africa’s crime wave a statistical illusion? Institute for Security Studies, Published in SA Crime Quarterly, No1, July 2002.
Mail & Guardian, 19 September 1997. Blasting a hole in crime stats.
Mail & Guardian, 23 October 1997. Police can’t cope with organised crime.
Mail & Guardian, 13 February 1998. SA crime is getting organised.
Mail & Guardian, 8 February 2001. Crime stats gag may be lifted.
Mail & Guardian, 8 February 2001. DA locks horns with Tshwete over gag.
Mail & Guardian, 9 February 2001. Mbeki pulled up over crime figures.
Mail & Guardian, 6 April 2001. Crime stats the govt hides from you.
Mail & Guardian, 1 June 2001. Dodgy crime stats released to SA.
Mail & Guardian, 1 June 2001. ‘Unreliable’ crime stats released to SA.
Mail & Guardian, 8 May 2002. SA’s crime decreasing: new security minister.
Mail & Guardian, 11 May 2002. SA ‘winning’ crime war.
Masuku, S. Prevention is better than cure: Addressing violent crime in South Africa. Institute for Security Studies. Published in SA Crime Quarterly No 2, November 2002.
Masuku, S. For better and for worse: South African crime trends in 2002. Institute for Security Studies. Published in SA Crime Quarterly No 3, March 2003.
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Crimes: prosecutions and convictions with regard to certain offences, 1987-1988. Report No.00-11-01. Pretoria.
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The Nedcor Project on crime, violence and investment. Final report, June 1996.
The Sunday Independent, 25 May 2003, Shock report doubles road death toll.
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Exodus of Christians Hits Another

July 6, 07
By Ned Parker
Los Angeles Times


BAGHDAD -- The two men knocked on Abu Salam's door on a Friday morning. He was one of the last remaining Christians on his block.
"Peace be upon you," they said, and Abu Salam, a man in his 50s, repeated the greeting.
The pair, one fat and the other thin, spoke politely. Both were clean-shaven and wore slacks and button-down shirts.
"You are now aware the neighborhood of Muwallamin belongs to the Islamic State of Iraq," the bigger man said. "We have three conditions you can accept: You can pay a tax, become a Muslim, or you can leave your house and we will help you take out your furniture."
"We'll let you make up your mind."
"Peace be upon you," the men repeated as Abu Salam watched them head back toward the street.
Within hours, Abu Salam and his family left their neighborhood of more than 50 years. They joined an exodus that has all but emptied Dora, a large district in south Baghdad, of its once-thriving Christian population.
Abu Salam, who spoke on condition that his real name not be used, citing fears for his safety, is staying elsewhere in Baghdad for now.
"People will leave if things don't get better. It is chaos," he said. "If there is no imminent solution, Iraq is finished."
Christian leaders say 500 families left Dora in April and May. The US military concedes that a large number of Christians were uprooted but says the number is not that high. The United Nations' refugee agency said it counted at one location 100 families that had fled Dora.
The flight of Dora's Christians is an example of how the initial phase of the US security crackdown has failed to establish security and stop sectarian purging in Baghdad's neighborhoods.
The US military conducted a major clearing operation in Dora last fall, then largely pulled out, turning security over to Iraqi forces. Sunni Arab militants with ties to Al Qaeda in Iraq quickly reestablished themselves and late last year began harassing Christians. A second US sweep in early winter failed to loosen the militants' grip on the district.
In interviews, displaced Christians described a civilian population too terrified of Al Qaeda to ask Americans for help. They said that even after the Baghdad troop buildup started in February, US soldiers were rarely present in some neighborhoods and often had no idea what to look for.
Major Kurt Luedeke, the US military spokesman for Dora, said US officials were caught off guard by the campaign against Christians in the area.
"We knew it was going on; we just didn't know how widespread it was," he said.
Iraq's senior Christian politician, Younadam Kanna, said the military didn't launch an offensive against militants in Dora until May 25, although the campaign to drive out the district's Christians had begun in earnest in late April.
"There weren't enough forces," Kanna said. "The multinational forces are isolated from the people. . . . They don't know who is who."
In response to the mass displacements, the US military has strengthened its presence in the area. In a bid to contain Al Qaeda supporters and prevent further neighborhood purges, the US Army has erected concrete barriers and walled off certain streets.
Troops are surveying every home, collecting photographs, fingerprints, and retinal scans of all military-age males. With the additional troops, the US Army says it can patrol every neighborhood in Dora, sometimes several times a day.
The Christian community's troubles in Dora began in autumn 2004, when Sunni militants bombed churches and kidnapped people. But Christians' lives took the sharpest turn for the worse in October after Al Qaeda and allied groups declared an Islamic State of Iraq.
By January, the Islamic State's proclamations appeared on walls and were circulated in leaflets. Dora residents said some of the fliers proclaimed that women were required to wear veils; shorts were banned; trousers were forbidden for men; and cellphones were prohibited for women.
"They issued laws and decrees like a real state," said Wardiya Yussef, who left Dora in April after a cousin was shot on the street.
As Al Qaeda supporters asserted their muscle, Iraqis were reluctant to give information to the Americans. It was a bitter reversal from the period last fall when military sweeps in Dora had briefly restored stability. In that regard, too, Dora fits a broader pattern in which civilians have watched US troops come and go, seldom staying long enough to establish lasting security.
That lack of constancy has bedeviled US efforts in Iraq, said Stephen Biddle, a military analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"Until local civilians come to believe that you'll be there long enough to protect them from reprisals, and that you're stronger than the militants . . . they won't trust you well enough to risk offering tips and information."

http://www.christiansofiraq.com/forcedtoleavejuly67.html

Crime soars again in country where drivers dare not halt at a red light

Crime soars again in country where drivers dare not halt at a red light
Jonathan Clayton in Johannesburg
The glass shattered with an ear-splitting explosion. A hand, clutching a spark plug to break a reinforced car window, flashed and the bag was gone.
The driver had committed two mistakes. Running late, she had jumped into the car and thrown a handbag, containing a mobile phone, wallet and passport, on to the passenger seat. In South Africa, unwritten rules say you should hide such things under a seat or lock them securely in the boot.
With daylight fading, she then stopped at a red traffic light, rather than slowly inching her way forward if the way was clear. Once night falls in big cities, few dare to stop at junctions and crossroads.
The shadow in the dark used the momentary lapse to leap into action and within seconds the driver was another victim of the country’s soaring crime levels. Such is crime in South Africa where official statistics, published this week, showed another increase in murders, violent crimes, burglaries and carjackings. Over the past 12 months bank robberies have doubled.
The latest statistics have been met with fury across the nation. Radio phone-ins have focused on little else.
The front-page headline in a leading newspaper said: “You have never been in such danger in your home.”
Charles Nqakula, the Safety and Security Minister, admitted that the crime statistics were unacceptable, but dismissed calls to resign. For the second consecutive year the Government has failed to meet its target of reducing crime by between 7 and 10 per cent. “I am not going to resign,” he told business people in Johannesburg yesterday. “I am going to continue to find answers to the problems we have.”
Last February President Thabo Mbeki admitted that many South Africans lived in fear and promised an increase in police numbers and funding.
The crime statistics, which show that the country is one of the most dangerous in the world, are raising doubts over South Africa’s ability to host the football World Cup in 2010, and discouraging foreign investment.
The Government emphasised that crime overall had fallen by 20 per cent, and reported rape was also down. However, antirape activist groups say that with more than one rape estimated to occur every minute, many women never report such crimes. The police force is regarded increasingly as corrupt, incompetent and inefficient, and Jackie Selebi, the police chief, has been accused of dealings with underworld crime kings. He said his force would focus on the worst-hit areas.
The lengths to which people, particularly the white, and growing black, middle classes, go to avoid becoming yet another statistic often astonishes visitors from overseas. People driving home from shopping malls are warned to check frequently in the rearview mirror that they are not being followed. A strange car near a home may signal an attempt to raid their house.
Gangs, stalking shoppers in upmarket malls, stay in contact by mobile phone, and tip each other off when a likely victims is spotted. “A woman spending a lot of money in a jewellery shop, then getting into a car alone, could be signalled to the gang by a spotter. They will then follow her home and slip into the garage before the automatic door closes,” one policeman explained.
Fear of carjacking is even an acceptable excuse in court for failing to stop at a red light. In burglaries or carjackings, once the victim is alone with the perpetrators, murder or rape can easily follow.



comment:

This is an accurate report on life in Johannesburg; to survive you adapt and accept the new South Africa or leave. More than half of my friends and colleagues have been victims of violent crime in the past 5 years. The police force is lazy and inept and of little use in the Gauteng region that is truly scary. But remember as a tourist, you are still very unlikely to become a violent crime statistic or be eaten by a wild animal. Many more visitors are involved in road crashes that seldom get publicity.
Hic, Sandton, South Africa
She made a third mistake: she closed her window all the way. If you leave it open a centimetre or two, the spark plug will not shatter the window but bounce off.
Duncald, Melbourne, Australia
No one can live in fear all the time without great damage to themselves and the society as a whole. Apartheid may have discriminated against people who were not white, but savage crime that tears South Africa today is without bias. Everyone is prey. The crime of apartheid is not to be forgiven, but it is wrong to measure it against the depravity of criminals that infest the country today. To do so is to make excuses, and that is what the SA government of today does all the time. The South African government inherited everything that could have made the country the envy of Africa and the cynosure of the world, but, though incompetence, mendaciousness, greed and unfeeling arrogance they are now well set on the low road. They seem to be emulating the failed African states and the mendacious leaders of those counties north of them. It is too sad for words.
David, Atlanta, USA

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article2028736.ece

SA envoys kicked out of UK

04/07/2007 19:39 - (SA)
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2141458,00.html

SA ambassador marries gays
Anger at new job for 'sex pest'


London - Seven diplomats from Saudi Arabia and three from South Africa are among 28 who have left Britain in the past 10 years after being accused of serious crimes, according to official figures showed on Wednesday.
All escaped prosecution because of their diplomatic immunity, but quit the country after representations from the Foreign Office. One Saudi left after an alleged indecent assault on a child.
After Saudi Arabia, the country with the highest number of dismissals was South Africa - three officials have left since 1997 after alleged offences, including robbery.
The Foreign Office figures are the latest to highlight levels of alleged criminality among the 24 000 people in Britain who are exempt from prosecution under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Foreign diplomats escaped legal action for 30 alleged criminal offences in 2005 and 2006, according to Foreign Office figures released last month.
Refuse to pay congestion levy
South Africans faced the most claims of criminality - they were accused of offences including stealing a car and robbery, while Saudi diplomats faced allegations of drunken driving and domestic violence.
Some foreign representatives in Britain have also been criticised for refusing to pay the £8 (about R112) congestion charge which is levied on vehicles driving through central London.
The United States is the worst non-payer and owes more than a £1m (about R14.07m) in unpaid fees.
Diplomats say the charge is a tax and that they are therefore exempt, but London mayor Ken Livingstone has said that the US refusal to pay brings "their entire government into disrepute."

Russia issues new missile threat

Russia has raised the idea of basing new missile forces in Kaliningrad, close to Poland and Lithuania.
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov linked the possible move to US plans for a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Russia has already threatened to hit back by targeting missiles at Europe.
Mr Ivanov said there would be no need to move extra forces to Kaliningrad if the US agreed to use Russian facilities instead of the Polish and Czech bases.
Russia says the US plans for a limited missile defence shield, including bases close to Russia's borders, represent a threat to its security.
It has proposed that the US should use a radar facility in Azerbaijan, and another installation currently being built in southern Russia.
'Effective response'
US President George W Bush has described the idea as "innovative" but indicated that the US will press ahead with the plans for a radar station in the Czech Republic, and a missile base in Poland.

How defence system works

The US says its missile shield is not directed at Russia, but at what it considers "rogue states" such as Iran.
"If our proposals are accepted, the need will disappear for Russia to deploy new missile weaponry in the European part of the country, including in Kaliningrad Region," Mr Ivanov said, on a visit to Uzbekistan.
"If our proposals are not accepted - and I cannot rule that out... an asymmetrical and effective response has been found."
Correspondents say Mr Ivanov's comments indicate that US hopes of toning down Russia's Cold War-style rhetoric by hosting a relaxed weekend meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Mr Bush in Maine have not borne fruit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6269408.stm

Iowahawk Jihad Doctor Scoop

Iowahawk Jihad Doctor Scoop
I don’t know how he does it, but Iowahawk has scooped the mainstream media again, with the first guest post from the jihad doctor,
Khalid Ahmed, MD:

Well, That Didn’t Work Out So Great.
Iowahawk Guest Commentary By Khalid Ahmed, MD Board Certified Gastroenterologist and former Jihad Associate, al Qaeda UK
Ever have “one of those days?” Sure, all of us go through the occasional rough patch, but I swear there are times when I think Allah must really have it in for me. I mean, I know the “Big Guy” is supposed to have a sense of humor, but do I always have to be the punchline?
Take for example this last week. A few mates and I had been planning a big martyrdom weekend for quite a while; it’s something we first began discussing a few years ago in medical school back in Amman. We were sitting around the dorm eating pizza, cramming for a big anatomy final, when Ali said “you know, after graduation, we should get together for something really big.” We talked about a fishing trip to Canada or something, but most of the guys thought that sounded pretty boring. Abdul suggested a golf weekend in Cancun, but the all-inclusives there can get pretty pricey in-season. Hassan (who’s really into motorcycles) suggested renting Harleys and going to Sturgis for the Biker Rally, but we heard that crowd can get pretty rowdy.
Anyhoo, Achmed finally says, “how about packing cars with explosives and killing hundreds of random infidels in a coordinated series of gigantic fireballs?” And we’re like, f*ckin’ A! Not only would we be it an awesome bonding experience (with plenty of Paradise poontang, LOL), we would be doing a valuable community service. Okay, so we high-fived and made a solemn promise that we’d target two years after graduation for the big weekend prank blowout.
I know how it usually goes with these kinds of fraternity things; what with starting up a medical practice, honor killing obligations, and starting a family, it’s easy to lose touch with the old school buddies. But this thing — our thing — was serious, you know? Thanks to email we were able to keep in touch and keep the plan going. As luck would have it, we all won Achmedinijad scholarships to do our residencies in England for the National Health Service. We got our families together most every weekend for backyard cookouts and self-flagellation and TV football matches. Afterwards me and the other guys would slip out to the garage for cigars, and to pack shrapnel.
So okay, the big weekend arrives, and the guys come over to my place bright and early, everybody’s jazzed about rolling up some kufr carnage. All the propane tanks and propellant and nail cannisters are ready to go. I look at Ali and say, “okay mate, back up your car to the garage and I’ll start loading it up.” He gets this dumbstruck look on his face and says, “my car? I thought Hassan was going to do the martyrdom.” And then Hassan does a massive spit-take with his tea, and he’s like, “whoa dude, I rigged the cell phones, I didn’t agree to blow up. I thought Achmed was going to do the blowing up.” Then Achmed’s like, “don’t look at me, pal, I thought I was just providing the spiritual guidance. Plus my car’s in the shop for transmission work.” From there it just descended into this big shouting match. Holy frickin’ prophet, two years of planning this prank and now everybody wants to pussy out on the actual martyrdom.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=26119_Iowahawk_Jihad_Doctor_Scoop&only

100 000 people were murdered in South Africa in the five previous years

""It added that more than 100 000 people were murdered in South Africa in the five previous financial years, nearly 270 000 raped, and 1,3-million seriously assaulted.""


Crime stats a 'wake-up call for govt'
Mail & Guardian Online reporter and agencies Johannesburg, South Africa
03 July 2007 01:21
DisplayDCAd('220x240','1','');
South Africa's high murder rate rose further in the past year while rape figures dropped, according to police statistics released in one of the world's most crime-ridden countries on Tuesday.Assistant Commissioner Chris de Kock told journalists in Pretoria that 40,5 people out of every 100 000 were murdered in the fiscal year that ended in March, a 2,4% increase from 39,6 per 100 000 in the previous 12 months.Rape cases decreased by 5,2%, attempted murder by 3%, and indecent assault by 5,5%, he said.But aggravated robbery, which included such categories as cash-in-transit and bank heists, rose by 4,6%, while common robbery decreased by 5,8%.South Africa, which is to host the Socccer World Cup in 2010, has one of the world's heaviest crime burdens. With around 50 murders, 148 rapes and nearly 700 serious assaults committed each day, violent crime is a particular concern.South African authorities had set out to achieve an annual 7% to 10% drop in crime.Crime, along with HIV/Aids, were found to be the country's main scourges in a peer-review report presented to an African Union summit in Accra this week.While citizens question the authorities' commitment to keeping them safe, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula invited crime "whingers" last year to leave the country.PerceptionsBut in a softened approach, President Thabo Mbeki told Parliament in February that crime was a concern, having left communities "cowering in fear".Dr Johan Burger, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, told the Mail & Guardian Online on Tuesday that while the figures were in line with expectations, the increase in violent crimes -- most of which had consistently decreased over the last 13 years -- was particularly disturbing.He said that aggravated robbery, which showed a positive downward trend from a high in 2003, seems also to have taken a turn for the worse.Robberies at business premises increased by 52,5% and robberies at residential premises increased by 25,4%.Burger said the increase in house robberies was one of the "most serious as far as people’s perceptions are concerned”.“This is one of the worrying factors -- criminals now change their focus and stand to gain more when people are there. They have access to their safes, bank cards, PIN numbers, all sorts of things. This [type of crime] goes hand in hand with serious assault as they force people to share information.”“One of the problems we have in this country and in many other parts of the world is looking at simplistic answers [to the crime rate]."Crime is a very complicated business. It’s caused by greed in some cases and by socio-economic conditions in other cases. And then there’s this very simplistic idea: if you solve the problems in the criminal justice system crime will go away. That’s not going to happen.“This should be a wake-up call for the government. They will have to have a complete rethink on how they approach crime in this country. They spend a lot on the criminal justice system, but they have to identify the problems associated the socio-economic factors. They need an integrated approach.”'Crime rates are unacceptable'"Given that 32% of all crimes are not reported to the police, we know that the crime rates are unacceptable," the main opposition Democratic Alliance said in a statement on Tuesday.It added that more than 100 000 people were murdered in South Africa in the five previous financial years, nearly 270 000 raped, and 1,3-million seriously assaulted.More than a million robberies were committed and nearly 450 000 cars stolen.Mbeki has repeatedly rejected assertions that the crime wave would undermine South Africa's ability to host the World Cup.He has pledged to boost police levels to 180 000 by 2010 as well as improve pay and working conditions.Last month, the head of global football body Fifa, Sepp Blatter, said there were many "rubbish reports" about criminality in South Africa."Go to any big country in the world today and you will find the same problems," he said.Abuse of drugs and alcoholStudies show that the murder rate peaked in November, December and January. The hours between 6pm and 7pm of any day were when there was most likely to be an increase in murder, robbery and assault with grievous bodily harm.De Kock said there was a strong association between the abuse of drugs and alcohol, and statistics for the main contact crimes. Bank robberies increased by 118% in the last financial year, cash-in-transit heists increased by 21,9% and truck hijackings by 7,6%.Car hijackings increased by 6%.Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs increased by 14,3% and drug-related crimes increased by 8,2% with the illegal possession of firearms increasing by 5,6%.Burglary, a crime that does not involve violence, decreased by 5,9% and non-residential burglaries were up by 6,3%.De Kock said this increase could probably be attributed to the security guard strike when premises were left unguarded.Stock theft was down 0,8% and the theft of tools from gardens saw a 5,1% decrease.Commercial crimes increased by 12,6% and shoplifting was up by 0,5%.Empty promisesThe crime statistics prove crime is out of control despite government assurances to the contrary, the Inkatha Freedom Party said."We are alarmed at the increase in murder, the 118% increase in bank robberies, 52,5% increase in robberies at business premises, the 21,9% increase in cash-in-transit heists, and the sharp increase in robberies at residential premises," IFP spokesperson Velaphi Ndlovu said in a statement.He said the increases should be condemned in the strongest possible way."It once again proves without doubt that crime is out of control in South Africa and that the levels of crime remain alarmingly high, despite empty government promises," he said.The IFP believed it again highlighted the need for increased visible policing at banks, business premises, shopping malls and within residential areas."It seems that whenever police are able to stop criminals targeting one specific crime, criminals just move on to something else."Therefore, with the increase of robberies at residential premises, it was vital for police to start working closer with neighbourhood policing groups to turn the tide against property crimes and make communities safer, Ndlovu said.
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http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=312960&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/

Aid's Steekend!!!

Six youths lose penises after bungled circumcisions
Cape Town, South Africa
02 July 2007 03:51
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Six more youths have lost their penises as a result of bungled circumcisions in the Eastern Cape, the provincial health department said on Monday.Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said 18 would-be initiates were admitted to hospital in Port St Johns last week, of whom four had to have their septic penises amputated.Four others of the 18 were admitted after being assaulted at the initiation schools they were attending.Two youths were brought in to the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha last week when their penises fell off following circumcisions gone wrong.Kupelo said the death toll in the current winter circumcision season in the province now stood at seven.Five of the deaths were the direct results of circumcisions: one youth was murdered at a school, and another died in a fire at a school in the East London area.A total of 19 surgeons and one nurse had been arrested.He said the most recent arrest was of a surgeon at Ngqeleni, who was earlier held and released on bail after illegally performing circumcisions.When the 24-year-old man did not turn up for a court appearance, a warrant was issued for his arrest.Police who went to execute the warrant on Sunday night found him circumcising more boys. -- Sapa

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=312888&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/

Black Genocide

From the News Archives of: WWW.AfricanCrisis.OrgDate & Time Posted: 7/1/2007
SA: The Bittereinder Afrikaners are FIGHTING BACK & Black Genocide
I have been hearing from various people, and I'm watching certain folks. It appears to me that Afrikaners are fighting back - with increasing effectiveness.Some time back you will recall I mentioned the 57+ Boer organisations out there.SA: There are 57 Afrikaner/Boer Organisations out there...SA: The 57+ Afrikaner/Boer Organisations - Despondency over UnityThen of course someone ran about saying, "This is proof of how divided we are and we'll never get anywhere..." I responded by saying that if there were NO BOER ORGANISATIONS - then I'd worry - it would show that nobody wants to fight.Its better for there to be too many willing to fight - than for there to be too few. Even if people go a little crazy... and a little nutty at times... its still better than people doing BUGGER ALL.Just yesterday I was thinking to myself that if people want us whites out of Africa, we should tell them: "Sure we'll leave... when you throw our dead bodies into the sea... because that's the only time that we'll be leaving these shores." It does not matter how our numbers dwindle - I have yet to see a historical example of people who put up a stiff fight - who were just run out of a place. I can't see it being practical.I quoted that Rhodesian from the Police Special Branch the other day. Is there a Black SADC Conspiracy to Drive Whites out of Africa?A particular sentence hit me:-I predict that it will be a gradual process where they will use and milk whitey for as long as necessary... will not allow him to remain here longer than needed - what happened in Zim being a perfect model of how to do it - they may make a few adjustments but in essence the tactics will be the same! Why do we all continue fooling ourselves - have we not seen and experienced example after example of their intent and motives?The key sentence that hit me was: "Why do we all continue fooling ourselves - have we not seen and experienced example after example of their intent and motives?"Why do we all continue fooling ourselves that the blacks will change? Why do we keep on hoping the blacks will learn and see the light and sanity?But there's more to it than you think. Currently in S.Africa there may be 5 million Blacks from Zimbabwe. I predict this: If Whites are driven out of Africa... that the next thing you'll hear of is this:-1. Genocide of the Matabele people and the MDC supporters in Zimbabwe.2. Genocide of the Zulus who do not accept ANC rule.I predict that if we whites are driven out of Africa, or if we give up, that TENS OF MILLIONS OF BLACKS WILL BE MURDERED QUIETLY JUST LIKE MUGABE MURDERED THE 30,000 MATABELE IN THE 1980's. Don't think it is just us whites who are facing GENOCIDE. There are many blacks who are Pro-Western... WHO WILL BE SLAUGHTERED WHEN WE ARE NO LONGER AROUND. Currently... we whites speak out too much. We are too "in your face"... and indirectly WE KEEP THOSE BLACKS ALIVE. They don't murder those blacks too openly because we are around to tell the world about it. But when we're gone... those blacks will be murdered... like they were last time and NOBODY WILL HEAR A PEEP ABOUT IT.The rubbish theory, spawned by our enemies, that things will be BETTER when whites are gone is junk. Things will be "better" for them to murder and to destroy all opposition - yes. They'll do that. Then the last vestiges of "democracy" will be gone and they'll just murder those they don't approve of.We are a balancing force, and we are very important.I heard via the grapevine that there are Afrikaners who are talking about the value of the Bittereinders (i.e. Bitter-enders - fighting to the bitter end). Dr Chris Jordaan, who is one of them, told me that his grandfather fought in the Anglo-Boer war. When it was over he took his rifle and broke it (as did others) because he refused to surrender it to the British. That's the attitude we must have. You want this land? Sure... you can have it... after you've killed us first!Look at the Jewish Task Force. They're wild. But that's what we need. We need that wildness. Nobody in the world takes us seriously because they regard us as "Colonisers" who are too happy to leave. We need to show them that we're serious... that we'll fight to remain here. We don't want to run. We don't want to leave. The Right Wing Jews are maniacs. They're irrational, emotional individuals who will fight like maniacs. They read the Torah and don't give a rat's ass about anyone else's opinion. We need that kind of attitude. One must not always be too reasonable about things. (More on that later!)Every country that exists on this planet came into existence due to a fight. Who are the Americans to lecture us anyway? They killed off all the Red Indians. They kept black slaves long after they had been abolished in S.Africa and the British Empire. We should ask the American Govt if we are the outlet for their conscience? Are they kicking us around to satisfy their own guilt trip? If they're feeling so guilty, then why don't the Americans and the Canadians remove themselves and return North America to the Red Indians? We can always say: We'll move back to Europe... but first... you set the scene by evacuating North America and returning it to the Red Indians and the Mexicans. These American Liberals are hypocrits. They expect things of us that they would never do themselves.They have thousands of nuclear weapons to protect themselves. But they expect us to live without having rifles with which to protect ourselves from our enemies.It appears to me, as I observe and hear things that more and more hard-core, hard-assed Afrikaners are coming out of the woodwork to fight back.In my discussions with Dr Chris Jordaan some years back when I wrote Government by Deception, the two of us felt that Whites in S.Africa need to be MOBILISED. The Whites need to be mobilised and prepared. He even had a plan to create "Alternate Government Structures" in all the towns and cities in S.Africa (like the ANC once did). These would serve as structures to help inform, control and defend whites in a serious situation.Adriaan Snyman and others have been running around the country. More and more people are getting up and starting to mobilise others. This is good. This needs to continue. People need to be mobilised MENTALLY. People need to be prepared mentally. I hear that Eugene Terblanche now has a Christian Organisation and that he is running around telling people that we did not steal the land from the blacks. EXCELLENT! He is helping to remove whites from the liberal/communist guilt-trip we've all been on which has caused us not to defend ourselves when we should have.As I mentioned before... the Blacks are Colonisers here just as we were. But if you go anywhere in the world you'll see that things are even fuzzier. Its not a case of who was there first - it was of WHO CONQUERED WHOM!On this planet the simple fact is that: MIGHT IS RIGHT. History shows this. You can get and keep a country for as long as you're willing and able to defend it successfully. The winner is always right. That is how history works. All these First World countries lecturing us otherwise - themselves came into being on this exact basis - the hypocrits!It is only in recent decades that people are on a guilt-trip about conquest. (The communists started that guilt-trip with their propaganda).We must not worry ourselves too much about this stupid debate of who "rightfully owns South Africa". We must show the world that we want to stay here and we'll fight and die for that. One Afrikaner wrote to me saying that "Uncle Siener" (Van Rensburg) said that we must fight even if we have our backs to the wall. I agree. I said above one must not be too reasonable. That sounds bad doesn't it? Let me explain: If you will watch the blacks you'll see that they're completely unreasonable when it suits them. Examples:-1. The Blacks will *NEVER* deviate from their requirement of stealing the land and driving the white farmers off - even if it means they too will starve to death. No amount of reasonable and logical argument will cause them to divert from this strategy. Even watching all of Zimbabwe dying... will not cause them to change - not for one minute or second. They don't need logic to back up their argument. They want what they want and will never deviate from it, no matter how unreasonable or insane their desires are.2. Neither Mbeki nor the ANC will ever introduce a sunset clause into Affirmative Action. The Blacks will never stop moving into our businesses and parasiting off of us. We freely give them our knowledge which they take (without a thankyou) but still they want to seize control of our businesses. The minute we create a business, the blacks will parasite off of it, infiltrate it and control it. The Blacks keep shoving whites out of jobs even when it is shown that white skills are beneficial. Again - no amount of logic will cause them to deviate from their strategy. The two above examples are the same as what I wrote in Goverment by Deception. I warned that the Blacks want that which is ours. They want to "share" what belongs to us. And if they can't get it, they'll destroy it, but it is so crucial for them THAT WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE IT!I am delighted to see more and more whites fighting back. It is important. Waking up other whites and mentally mobilising them is crucial.Eventually... when that mental mobilisation is complete, we need to unite as a political and physical force to defend ourselves. The Afrikaners have a lot of untapped power that has not yet been brought into play. We must become tough and hardened and we must be just as unreasonable as those Jews were who created Israel. They did not muck around. People should read more about the history of how Israel was created. I too must sit and read up on it. But there are EXTREMELY VALUABLE SURVIVAL LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM HOW ISRAEL WAS CREATED. That much I do know. The Jews did some pretty wild and strange things... read up about it. In the history of Europe, the armies were small. Few men volunteered to fight (before the Napoleonic wars when mass conscription came into play). For hundreds of years, Europe's history was controlled by the small armies which fought there. The lesson is this:-Few men fought - most did nothing - but it is the FEW who changed the political landscape of Europe. And so it is all over the world. It is the few who dare to fight, by word and by deed, who change the face of the world. The masses just go along with it. We must just be careful with our tactics and strategies though. We mustn't be idiots. We must build on solid foundations. Firstly, mobilise people MENTALLY. Then after that, we take it to the next level and we gain political cohesiveness, etc. Our ultimate goal must be to be in a position to defend ourselves against future attacks. These attacks are coming. The ANC is trying to hide its split, but half the blacks want to "do us" - they want to steal from us *NOW*. Mbeki is trying to slow this down, because he's "doing us" quietly... and he fears going too far may backfire on them... so Mbeki wants to screw slowly, while Zuma wants to screw quickly! Either way... the mad and insane blacks are merely arguing among themselves about which is the best way to screw us. The fact is... screwing us is on the cards... for them its just a question of the tactics and strategies of *HOW* & *WHEN* to screw us. We should therefore aim and prepare for them to come and screw us... and to be ready for them when they take it to the next level. This can be done. I have no doubt about this. All that each person out there must do is: Go and convert other whites - whites inside the country and outside the country. Family, friends, etc. Keep up the pressure. Wake up the other whites and support the Bittereinders who are out there with their message.Help guys like Eugene Terblanche. Like I say, Eugene Terblanche and I both have one thing in common - we firmly know and believe that whites in SA will be screwed as per Zimbabwe, and EVERY WHITE PERSON FROM RHODESIA/ZIMBABWE HAS SAID THE SAME THING FOR A LONG TIME. We don't want this country to end up like that hell hole.I'm quite confident though. Things are not as dark now as they were when I wrote my book. I think we stand a pretty damned good chance if we just keep on working together and sticking together. Its time we showed our enemies and also people in Europe and America what we're made of. They may have falsely concluded, since dealing with the likes of De Klerk, Pik Botha the snake and that wanker Roelf Meyer that we're all made of putty to be bent and shaped as they see fit. Its time they met some men and women made of steel.

Jan.
http://www.africancrisis.org/default2.asp