US drop Mandela from terror list

July 01 2008 at 08:00PM

Washington - President George Bush has removed former South African
president Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress from the
United States terror watch list, the White House said Tuesday.

The bill was sent to the White House last week and signed in time for
the anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner's 90th birthday
on July 18.

"Today the United States moved closer at last to removing the great
shame of dishonouring this great leader by including him on our
government's terror watch list," Senator John Kerry said after the bill
was approved Friday.

When a similar bill passed the House of Representatives last month,
Barbara Lee, a California Democrat who co-sponsored it, said she was
"especially pleased we are taking this important step to finally right
this inexcusable wrong."

Lee and others said the legislation introduced during the 1980s while
Ronald Reagan was president was anachronistic and wrongfully labelled as
heroes and freedom fighters as terrorists.

Lee recalled that under the legislation the ANC could travel to United
Nations headquarters in New York but not to Washington, DC, or other
parts of the United States.

In April, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged a Senate
committee to remove the restrictions on the ANC party, calling it a
"rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own
counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the
great leader Nelson Mandela." - Sapa-AFP

Afrikaanse grappies

**********************************************************************

Wat is brandende liefde?
Dis wanneer jy in die donker die Vaseline soek en die Vicks raakvat!

**********************************************************************

Gatiep en Maraai stap uit Spar uit met 'n pram.
Maraai kyk in die pram en skree: "DISSIE VERKEERDE kind!!!''
Gatiep se: " Hou jou bek man, dit is 'n beter pram!"

**********************************************************************

Dominee sê: "Laat ons bid vir die siekes." Ou oom sit sy hand op sy
gulp. Tannie gluur hom aan en se: "Hy bid vir die siekes, nie vir die
opstanding van die dooies nie."

**********************************************************************

Klein Liesbet wat 5 word verjaar.
Ouma vra wat wil sy he vir haar verjaarsdag.

"Die Pil Ouma".
Ouma kry amper 'n hartaanval en vra geskok: "Hoekom?"
Liesbet: "Ek het nou 10 poppe, genoeg is genoeg!"

**********************************************************************

Witbank Limo

P!nk van BRAKPAN

Garage door kills intruder

Murray Williams
June 25 2008 at 12:29PM

A Cape Town man has described his shock at finding a dead man trapped
under his electric garage door on Tuesday.

Alan Roodt, of Blaauwberg Road in Table View, told the Cape Argus on
Wednesday that he had been sleeping at about 1.45pm on Tuesday - he
works the night shift - when he was woken by his dog's barking.

"My dog just kept on and on," he said. "I have a side door to the
garage. I went in and saw this okie (guy) trapped under the door.

"He was lying on his stomach and the door had trapped him halfway up his
back. Obviously he couldn't breathe but there were no screams, nothing.
Weird. It was quite something else."

Roodt said the man, dressed in a tracksuit top, a white T-shirt, jeans,
black shoes and a blue cap, appeared to be dead.

Roodt immediately alerted the Metro Police, who, on their arrival,
confirmed that the man was dead.

Roodt said that his son's bicycle had been moved and that police
believed the man may have been trying to steal it.

Police said today that the man, 31, had been identified, but could not
be named as his next-of-kin had not yet been traced.

* *This article was originally published on page 1 of **Cape Argus*
<http://www.capeargus.co.za/>* on June 25, 2008 *

Post Office blacklisted

Rampant theft by Post Office workers has infuriated internet retailing
giant Amazon so much that it will no longer send goods to South Africa
by post, Business Day has reported.

Anyone wanting to order directly from the US-based website must now pay
for a private courier service adding about R420 to the price of a DVD.

No one from the Post Office would comment.

No other African country's postal service had been blacklisted by
Amazon, Business Day said. - Sapa

Plucky rape victim, 13, back at school

Less than a day after she was kidnapped and raped, a 13-year-old
Soshanguve girl was back at school.

On Sunday night a man dragged the girl, a Grade 6 pupil, to a shack and
raped her.

The girl's mother on Tuesday said the man kept the girl in his shack
overnight. It is believed he raped her twice.

The girl was rescued by community members the following morning.

She went to the clinic before school on Tuesday for a medical
examination, and was given antiretroviral treatment.

The 32-year-old suspect is believed to be part of a gang.

This article was originally published on page 2 of Pretoria
News* <http://www.pretorianews.co.za/> on June 11, 2008

Xenophobia, part 2

The bloodbath is over, apparently all quiet on the southern front.

The death toll has reached 62 (some people take longer to die). The
"Burning Man" has been identified and buried (35-year old Ernesto
Nhamuave of Mozambique). Zimbabwean billionaires who remain less than
optimistic about their own country's blossoming future and negligible
inflation rate continue to find holes in the border fence and flock to
South Africa in droves. "'There has been a clear increase in the number
of Zimbabweans trying to cross the border illegally into South Africa
since the March 29 election', the SA National Defence Force said."

Ill-managed (if at all) refugee camps have been set up, with
neighbouring squatters complaining that the foreigners they tried to
kill or evict are now receiving better treatment and housing
(UN-sponsored tents) than those native to South Africa. "Displaced
people have travelled from as far afield as Durban and Cape Town - some
even by plane - to become part of the camp in Klerksoord near Rosslyn,
and be registered by the United Nations."

Meanwhile, Somalis stranded in the Soetwater refugee camp claim
otherwise, citing depression and hunger as a reason for jumping into the
Atlantic Ocean to drown their fears of repatriation.

As for the motive behind the madness, there are some reports and
theories that claim there's a supposed "third force" at work which
attempts to undermine the South African government. Yeah, sure! It's
just a couple of German football-mad neo-nazi right-wing AWB-sympathetic
hooligans down south of the Limpopo who simply want to delay the
building of the infrastructure that'll eventually host the 2010 FIFA
World Cup so that it'll default back to being hosted in Deutschland once
more and they can re-live their "Sommermärchen" from 2006 and boost the
local economy.

"Black-on-black violence"?

Actually, "it's broke-on-broke violence," US actor-comedian Chris Rock
said at a news conference in South Africa. "It's broke people robbing
each other. That's the sad thing."

"Analysts say the attacks partly reflect rising frustration among locals
who have watched foreigners - some of them in the country illegally -
take jobs because they are either prepared to accept less pay or are
better qualified."

It's poverty that causes xenophobia, just like poverty (not HIV) that is
responsible for AIDS. They're all rumours, of course... the ANC, under
the capable leadership of Jacob Zuma and sometimes President Thabo
Mbeki, has everything under control.

Alan Paton is probably rotating in his grave, crying "Fuck this beloved
country!"

South Africa has lost its mind. Blame the brain drain. Or apartheid.
Blame anything, as long as you can blame something other than your own
ineptitude.

The weakest link

In response to the popularity of "The Weakest Link", Kyknet will be
launching an Afrikaans version.

After many months of creative brainstorming, they have managed to come
up with a catchy version of "You are the weakest link - goodbye."

The producers have settled on what will surely become a popular phrase,
applicable to many other situations, too: "Jy's dof - fokof!"

Flames of hatred and xenophobia

Another two weeks of violence that have, at the time of writing, cost
the lives of at least 56 people and displaced thousands of foreigners
erupted after a community meeting attended by some 200 people in
Alexandra, just north of Johannesburg on Sunday, the 11th of May 2008.
These unemployed people, bored and facing an uncertain future, accused
foreign nationals of invading their rainbow nation and taking jobs that
they are supposedly entitled to. "The hate they carry in their hearts is
like simmering pot [sic] -- it can boil over at any moment and spread
all over. That is what happened after that meeting".

Foreigners are, of course, also blamed for the ridiculous crime rate
prevalent in South Africa.

Graphic summary of events here.

Darkness

'It's too dark and scary'
By Solly Maphumulo

Lack of electricity is taking its toll on Kempton Park residents who are
entering their seventh day without power.

Ekurhuleni metro municipality spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said power was
to be restored on Monday.

Residents were left without power after a fire at a sub-station.

For Kobus Stevenson and his family, the past six days have been
nightmarish. "This is unbearable. Our lives have come to a standstill,"
he complained as he made his way to a nearby shop to buy something to eat.

'It's too dark and scary'
"There is not much in the shop. Most of the delicate stuff is getting
rotten.

"If you buy milk you have to finish it the same day. This is so awful."

Lack of electricity has made it impossible for Stevenson to go out at
night.

"It's too dark and scary. The alarms are not working. We just have to go
to bed early.

"The problem is that my two sons do not understand why they have to
sleep early - they want to play games."

Domestic worker Maki Masana said she had been using fire to cook and
heat water to bath, and for her three-month-old daughter's bottle.

"I have to collect wood every day. What can I do? I have to make sure
there is hot water for Nthabiseng's bottle.

"This is becoming a big problem for me. I cannot afford a gas stove.
Whenever I make my daughter's bottle I have to make the fire."

Masana pointed at her two-year-old son's dirty feet - "I have been
unable to bath him thoroughly.

"The little hot water I get, I have to save for important things. I
can't bath him with cold water, I just wipe him with a wet towel."

When The Star visited Kempton Park on Sunday traffic lights were out and
most of the restaurants were deserted. The only visible activity came
from generator-powered shops.

This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on April 28,
2008

Kill the bastards, minister tells police

By Graeme Hosken

Police have been given the licence to kill by a deputy minister.

"You must kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community. You
must not worry about the regulations. That is my responsibility. Your
responsibility is to serve and protect," were the fiery words of Deputy
Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu at an anti-crime imbizo in
Pretoria West on Wednesday.

Shabangu, who received a standing ovation, was responding to questions
on what police and the government were doing to curb crime.

Residents of Danville, Pretoria West, Lotus Gardens, Hercules and
Elandspoort complained about the "pathetic excuses" given by police
allegedly unable or unwilling to deal with crime.

"I want to assure the police station commissioners and policemen and
women from these areas that they have permission to kill these criminals.

"I won't tolerate any pathetic excuses for you not being able to deal
with crime. You have been given guns, now use them.

"I want no warning shots. You have one shot and it must be a kill shot.
If you miss, the criminals will go for the kill. They don't miss. We
can't take this chance.

"Criminals are hell-bent on undermining the law and they must now be
dealt with. If criminals dare to threaten the police or the livelihood
or lives of innocent men, women and children, they must be killed. End
of story. There are to be no negotiations with criminals.

"The constitution says criminals must be kept safe, but I say No!

"I say we must protect the law-abiding people and not the criminals. I
say that criminals must be made to pay for their crimes," she said.

Lashing out at corrupt and incompetent police officials, Shabangu said
the community had a voice and should use it, especially when it came to
crime.

"If you feel you're not being listened to or your rights are being
infringed, stand up and make your voice heard.

"A policeman has to help you. He has taken an oath to serve and protect
and can't decide who and when he wants to serve and protect.

"You must not accept excuses from police who say they can't help you
because the crime didn't happen in their precinct. They have no choice.
This is not an issue open for debate," she said to Loraine de Vries, who
claimed a Pretoria West inspector had refused to help her because she
lived in another suburb.

Responding to questions on police either responding late or not at all
to emergencies, Shabangu said if a person wasn't happy with the
response, they should take it up with the station commissioner.

"You have a right to know why police respond late or not at all. It's
your life on the line. That's another thing that's not up for debate.
Police have to respond, whether they like it or not."

Appealing to communities for help in the fight against crime, Shabangu
welcomed the questions.

"The only way we have a true picture of what's happening is through
imbizos like this. We need more interaction if we're to win the war on
crime.

"We need communities to get involved with us in order to restore law and
order and in order for our country to have a future. If we don't, our
children won't have a future.

"We need to take back our homes, our streets, our cities and our country
and the only way we can do it is with the help of the people.

"You are our answer in the fight against crime," she said.

* This article was originally published on page 1 of The Pretoria
News on April 10, 2008

'SA schools most dangerous in the world'

South African schools were the most dangerous in the world with only 23
percent of pupils saying they felt safe at school, the SA Institute of
Race Relations (SAIRR) said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson for the Institute, Thomas Blaser, said a Progress in
International Reading Literacy study had ranked SA last in terms of
school safety.

"In that study South African school pupils were asked whether they felt
safe when they were at school and if they had experienced incidents of
stealing, bullying, and injury to themselves or to others in their class
within the last four weeks.

"Only 23 percent of South African pupils said they felt safe at school.
On average South Africa's schools ranked more than 20 percentage points
below the world-wide average of 47 percent of pupils saying they felt a
high degree of safety in the classroom," said Blaser.

Schools in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden were the safest in the world with
approximately 70 percent of pupils saying they felt safe at school.

Blaser said: "The findings of the study suggested that media reports of
school violence were not merely isolated incidents but part of a growing
pattern of violence and disorder."

According to the department of education's own data, published in the
SAIRR report, 24 percent of schools had no burglar bars, 35 percent had
no security gates, and 80 percent had no alarm systems.

"Conditions in many schools are not only far from ideal but in many
cases downright dangerous. The problem deserves urgent attention in
parliament and needs a national safety plan that will return proper law
and order to the school ground," said Blaser.

"Failing this it is difficult to see how schools will produce the skills
necessary to drive the South African economy."

The SAIRR called for urgent government intervention to halt a "growing
pattern of violence and disorder" in SA schools, said Blaser. - Sapa

'Corrective rape happens at school'

Corrective rape, where a male pupil rapes a female lesbian pupil to
"make her heterosexual", was a growing phenomenon in schools, the SA
Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said in a report released on Wednesday.

A gay and lesbian rights group told the commission during public
hearings that homosexual pupils experienced "high levels of prejudice"
at school resulting in "exclusion, marginalisation and victimisation".

"There is a growing phenomenon of corrective rape. This refers to an
instance where a male learner rapes a lesbian female learner in the
belief that after such a sexual attack the learner will no longer be
lesbian," the report said.

It said heterosexism and homophobia fuelled discrimination against gay
and lesbian pupils in South African schools.

"Within the school environment there is a clear need to place the LGBT
[lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] issues within a human rights
framework and to engage religious values."

OUT, a gay and lesbian rights NGO, was involved in training programmes
and policy development to curb violence against homosexual pupils.

The organisation told the commission there were high drop-out rates
among LGBT pupils and discrimination against them often led to suicide
and substance abuse.

During public hearings the commission was informed that xenophobia also
contributed toward violent incidents in South African schools.

"... [in] particularly those schools that attract non-national learners.
In these schools, discrimination on the grounds of ethnic, racial or
social origin may well be a contributing factor to the violence." - Sapa

Quickwire

Published on the Web by IOL on 2008-03-12 13:04:55
© Independent Online 2005. All rights reserved. IOL publishes this
article in good faith but is not liable for any loss or damage caused by
reliance on the information it contains.

New school pledge

*/Creed of the white kid /**/

We are sorry that our ancestors were intelligent, advanced and daring
enough to explore the wild oceans to discover new countries and to
conquer and develop these.

We are sorry that those who came before us took you out of the bush and
taught you that there was more to life than beating drums and chasing
animals with sticks and stones.

We are sorry that they planned, funded and developed roads, towns,
mines, factories, airports, all of which you now claim to be your long
deprived inheritance so you have full right to change and rename these
at your discretion.

We are sorry that our parents taught us the value of small but strong
families, to not breed like rabbits and end up as underfed, illiterate
shack dwellers living in poverty.

We are sorry that when they provided you with schools, you decided it
looked better without windows or in piles of ashes. We happily gave up
those bad days of getting spanked in our all white schools for doing
something wrong, and much prefer these days of freedom where problems
can be resolved with knives and guns.

We are sorry that it is hard to shake off the bitterness of the past
when you keep on raping, torturing and killing our friends and family
members, and then hide behind the fence of "human rights" with smiles on
your faces.

We are sorry that we do not trust the government. We have no reason to
be so suspicious and short sighted seeing that there has never been a
case where any of these poor hard working intellectuals were involved in
any form of corruption or irregularities.

We are sorry that we do not trust the police force and although they
have openly admitted that they have lost the war against crime and
criminals, we should not be so negative and just keep on hoping for the
best.

We are sorry that we basically flung open our border posts, and now left
you competing for jobs against illegal immigrants from our beautiful
neighbouring countries. All these countries that have grown so strong
after kicking out the "settlers", you should follow their excellent
example and grow big and strong like them!

We are sorry that we don't believe in witchcraft, beetroot and garlic,
urinating on street corners or trading woman for cattle, maybe we just
grew up differently. So sorry that when we are forced into sharing the
same establishments, sometimes we lose our temper, that is totally
uncalled for.

We are sorry that your medical care, water supplies, roads, and your
electrical supplies are going down the toilet because skilled people who
could have planned and resolved these issues had to be shown away
because they were of the wrong ethnic background and now has to work in
foreign countries where their skills are more needed.

We are so sorry and should really try harder to be more tolerant and
learn to get along with EVERYBODY around us, one big happy family.

The Dumb White Kid/*