It's Almost Supernatural

Our low life expectancy

The life expectancy of South Africans is lower than the average in Africa and that of war-ravaged Iraq, a UN Population Fund report has shown.

It seems that with more and more power, the ANC has had less and less effect on improving this important scorecard. AIDS policies from 2000 to 2005, where a blind refusal to properly distribute free ARVs resulted in 330,000 deaths and 35,000 mother to child transmissions, have made a major contribution to this horrific statistic.

Vote opposition.

Register to vote!

Next year, South Africans go to the polls for our fourth democratic elections. Can we choose hope over fear and rise above the barbed-wire of racial politics to vote for the change we need? NO WE CAN’T!

Come on, we all know that ANC supporters will once again reward the ANC for past failures. The ANC’s liberation credentials guarantee them an overwhelming landslide victory. The best we can hope for is to temper the ANC’s overwhelming majority by voting for an opposition party. 

Two weeks ago, in the Sunday Times, Chris Barron interviewed Angie Motshekga (President of the ANC Women's League and contender for premier of Gauteng). She said that it is in the best interests of all South Africans to have a de facto one-party state that can't be blocked from doing what it thinks is best. Let's punish the ANC for this profound arrogance. Use this weekend to register to vote if you haven't done so already and next year, make the effort to vote for an opposition party. Say no to a one-party state. Say no to arrogance and corruption. Say no to free-wheeling cadre deployment and a childish disregard for the procedures of parliament. Say no to the ANC.

The first step towards reducing the ANC’s power (and that will ultimately be good for them) is to make sure you are registered to vote in next year’s election.

To check if you are registered SMS your ID number to 32810.

If you are not registered, then make sure you get registered this weekend.

VOTER REGISTRATION WEEKEND 8-9 November 2008 Voting stations open 08:00 to 17:00 For more information call 0800 11 8000 toll free from a landline OR SMS your ID to 32810 if you are already registered to check your details

Remember to take your green bar coded ID book with you. If you don't have the correct ID book then you will need to get one from the Department of Home Affairs. They will also be open this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) so you can apply for an ID book and hopefully then be in a position to register should there be another registration weekend.

To find out where your nearest registration/voting station is located, use this station finder from the IEC website: http://www.elections.org.za/SearchVD.asp

Taking Terror to task

This morning, Talk Radio 702 hosted a round-table discussion with leading South African political parties. Much of the discussion focused on Terror Lekota’s recent criticism of the ANC.

Part of Lekota’s argument has been that the ANC has become intolerant of dissenting opinions and that there is no longer any room to raise opposition voices. He questions why disagreements can’t be raised publicly – why should they only be raised internally within the ANC?

I agree with Terror, but I also need to point out some hypocrisies.

Lekota seems to suggest that the problems with the ANC started at Polokwane, where Jacob Zuma was voted in as the new ANC president. Not so. Intolerance of criticism, stifling control of state institutions (including the public broadcaster, which Lekota mentioned today), cadre redeployment, 'alice in wonderland' style policies, childish name-calling, and tolerance of violence from supporters were some of the undeniable highlights of former President Mbeki’s hellish rule. We cannot listen to Terror Lekota now and pretend that these ANC attributes suddenly appeared overnight at Polokwane.

Lekota needs to position himself as someone who has always felt uncomfortable with the ANC – not as someone irked by ANC post-Polokwane behaviour.

In fact, according to William Gumede, Terror Lekota was himself once on the receiving end of Mbeki’s extreme intolerance of dissenting views.

In his, at times insightful, book, “Thabo Mbeki and the battle for the soul of the ANC” Gumede relays an incident relating to Mbeki’s despotic policy on Zimbabwe. As Mbeki’s unflinching support for Mugabe continued to baffle onlookers, Terror Lekota spoke out against Mugabe. He called for a public condemnation of the human rights violations in Zimbabwe and “slammed quiet diplomacy as totally ineffective.”

Mbeki, in typical fashion, saw red. He demanded that Lekota withdraw his comments. Lekota refused, saying that they were his personal opinion. Mebki’s influential legal advisor, Mojanku Gumbi, responded that as ANC Chairman, ‘Lekota had no such thing as a personal view’ and should be disciplined.

How Lekota then transformed into an ardent Mbeki loyalist, I have no idea. But it’s certainly ironic that this man is now attacking the new ANC leadership for preventing diverse opinions.

During this morning’s debate, a question from the press asked Lekota why he had not expressed public criticism over Mbeki’s deranged policies on AIDS. Tellingly, Lekota ignored the question.

Any half-decent analysis of the Mbeki era will indicate that, whilst the ANC is certainly deserving of Lekota’s criticism, the criticism applies also (if not more so) to the ANC under Mbeki’s rule – a man Lekota seems to be protecting and defending.

A website called “Friends of Democracy” was recently setup (presumably by the Lekota movement) in response to the pathetic “Friends of JZ (Jacob Zuma)” website. It resembled somewhat of a shrine to Mbeki – a sober and wise portrait of King Thabo was splashed on the home page. We have since heard that Mbeki will not be backing Lekota’s new movement and to no surprise, Mbeki’s front page splurge has been removed.

Still, listening to Lekota have a full go at the powerful beast that is the ANC, one can’t help but like him - he comes across as genial, yet forthright - despite his inconsistencies and hypocrisies. I won’t vote for him, but I hope that many ANC supporters will.

Update

A comment on this thread has pointed to a quote used on the fatuous "Friends of Democracy" website:

Like Mao Tse-Tung we say: “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend.”

It's a quote that the ANC has used before and was recently mentioned in one of former president Mbeki's ANC Today newsletters. Mike responded to this in a post just over a year ago, and it's well worth reading again: ANC marches in the footsteps of MAO

Mbeki's legacy and why you should vote opposition

A study from the Harvard School of Public Health published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome has asserted that more than 330,000 lives were lost to HIV/AIDS in South Africa from 2000 to 2005. During the same period, a staggering 35,000 babies were born with HIV because a mother-to-child prevention program using Nevirapine was not implemented. (Via HealthNewsTrack)

The authors estimated the benefits that South Africa lost by “restricting or delaying the use of ARV treatment in South Africa”. The study compared South Africa’s situation with neighbouring Botswana and Namibia.

From late 2000 Boehringer Ingelheim offered Nevirapine free of charge for five years for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in developing economies. South Africa restricted the use of Nevaripine whilst Botswana and Namibia took full advantage. By 2005 South Africa had achieved less than 30% prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Botswana and Namibia in comparison had achieved up to 70% prevention.

Mbeki’s drumming of racial nationalism prevented South African from getting serious about AIDS. I am reminded of a particularly grim moment in parliament when the DA’s Ryan Coetzee asked the former president if the high incidence of rape in South Africa is partly responsible for the dramatic prevalence of AIDS. Mbeki, still seething from an article in the press suggesting that tradition and religion play a role in South Africa’s high rape rates, retorted:

"Whatever the circumstances, and regardless of the regularity of catholic incantations about 'playing the race card', I, for my part, will not keep quiet while others whose minds have been corrupted by the disease of racism, accuse us, the black people of South Africa, Africa and the world, as being, by virtue of our Africanness and skin colour, lazy, liars, foul-smelling, diseased, corrupt, violent, amoral, sexually depraved, animalistic, savage and rapist," ... This year, in an article entitled "The Continuing Miseducation of the Negro", an African American Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Dr Edward Rhymes, wrote, "We are portrayed as oversexed or lascivious, and yet the porn and adult entertainment industry is dominated by whites.It is African Americans that get accused of being rampant sexual beasts, unable to control our urges, unable to keep our legs crossed, unable to keep it in our pants. Source: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2004/at42.htm

ANC MPs cheered and applauded.

Back to the study - it concludes:

Access to appropriate public health practice is often determined by a small number of political leaders. In the case of South Africa, many lives were lost because of a failure to accept the use of available ARVs to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in a timely manner."

In South Africa, a small number of powerful leaders use excessive power to control the course of this country. The disbanding of the Scorpions, an elite crime fighting unit loved by the people and feared by the criminals, is a case in point.

Don’t reward the ANC for past failures. And don’t listen to Bishop Tutu either. Vote next year for an opposition party. Say no to the ANC hegemony.

The Star issues an apology for Jenin lie

In April this year, our benighted former Minister of Totalitarian Affairs Intelligence, Ronnie Kasrils, unleashed one of his typically rancorous anti-Israel pieces in the Star newspaper. The article was accompanied by 3 images claiming to illustrate the bloody path that Israel has chosen to embark on.

One of the images claimed that there had been a “massacre” in Jenin and another claimed that Israel had perpetrated a bloody massacre at the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Lebanon. The third image depicted some of the carnage that resulted in the recent war with Hizballah in Lebanon, a war started by Hizballah.

The media team of the South African Zionist Federation took the incident to the Press Ombudsman and the Star has today, issued an apology, but only for the reference to a massacre in Jenin.

It’s a small victory for us, but it some sections of the ruling should cause us to question the neutrality of the ombudsman.

The image of the Sabra and Shatilla massacre gave the distinct impression that Israel carried out the massacre. That was a lie, so why no correction?

The Ombudsman writes:

A more careful reading of the Kahan report implicates Israel much more deeply than Ms Goldman accepts. For example: “The Chief of Staff, together with the people accompanying him, went to the Phalangists' headquarters, where, according to his testimony (p. 210), he ordered the Phalangist commanders to effect a general mobilization of all their forces, impose a general curfew on all the areas under their control, and be ready to take part in the fighting.” And: “Brigadier-General Yaron spoke with the Phalangists about the places where the terrorists were located in the camps and also warned them not to harm the civilian population. He had mentioned that, he stated, because he knew that the Phalangists' norms of conduct are not like those of the I.D.F. and he had had arguments with the Phalangists over this issue in the past.”

Even though the Ombudsman notes that (1) Israel didn’t actually perpetrate the massacre, and (2) Israel warned the Phalangists not to harm the Palestinian civilians, he still rules against the Zionist Federation’s complaint.

The Ombudsman ends his analysis of the photos with this piece of certain knowledge:

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Kasrils on the source of the violence it is true that Israel has been on a bloody path. The intention of the newspaper in using these pictures was to illustrate that path.

It may be correct to say that Israel has been on a bloody path in so far as the Arab nations have forced her hand – but Kasrils uses the phrase to suggest that Israel has single-handedly and unprovokingly caused all of the bloodshed. This is the pig-headed opinion that the Ombudsman has decided to side with.

Today’s edition of the Star published the apology along with the entire ruling by the Ombudsman. The apology reads:

Apology: In an article in The Star on April 7, we carried an analysis by Ronnie Kasrils entitled “A Call to Confront the Past” in which the writer examined what he regarded as terror conducted on the part of Israel to induce the Palestinians from the land of their birth. A complaint was directed to the Press Ombudsman by the Zionist Federation, and a ruling has been made. We apologise for inaccurately describing the events at the Jenin Camp between April 3 and April 18 2002 as a massacre.

You can read the entire Press Ombudsman hearing here: The South African Zionist Federation vs The Star and the Cape Argus

Related

• The Sunday Independent clarifies its stance on Jenin

Helen Zille: Best Mayor in the World!

Congratulations to Helen Zille and the DA - Zille was recently voted best mayor in the world: Helen Zille named world's best mayor

I would love to hear a response from the two real ANC factions.

Zille was on Talk Radio 702 tonight and she skillfully quipped that Lekota's real ANC is not trying to be an opposition to the real ANC. They are trying to be the real ANC.

Zille also answered a question which many (either racist, arrogant or naive) real ANC supporters have been exhaustively posing, clinging to it as the ultimate proof that the DA are racist. The questioner asked why, if Joe Seremane is not good enough to lead the party, did they nominate him to lead the country when parliament elected Kgalema Motlanthe as state president.

The answer is simple. A person who is not a member of parliament cannot be nominated for president. Helen Zille is not a member of parliament. She was too busy becoming the best mayor in the WORLD! Joe Seremane is party chairman and is therefore the DA's most senior person in parliament and was thus nominated for president.

Remember, don't be an idiot. Don't listen to Bishop Tutu. Vote in next year's elections. There are alternatives to the two real ANC factions.

SA 2010: Israel let it slip 2 minutes from time

Israel's chances of automatic qualification for the world cup in 2010 took a serious knock tonight as they conceded a heart breaking 88th minute equaliser away to Latvia. A victory would have sent Israel top of the log and all but cemented their chances of a top 2 finish.

Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun gave the hosts a a 1-0 lead in the second half but a goal from Kolesnicenko 2 minutes from time left Israel ruing what would have been three consecutive victories on the road.

In the group's other big game, Switzerland managed a great away victory over Greece. The group is thus really tight at the top with Israel a point behind Greece, and Switzerland a point behind Israel.

The next round of games is scheduled for next year March 28, when Israel will face a crunch encounter against Greece.

Israel's World Cup 2010 campaign

Being an, at times crazy, football supporter, I am quite excited about the 2010 World Cup to be staged in South Africa. South Africa as hosts are guaranteed qualification (thankfully, because our failure to qualify for the African Nations Cup would have meant that we would once again not qualify for the next World Cup). The other country that I look out for is, of course, Israel.

The prospect of Israel participating in the 2010 world cup, staged in South Africa, is tantalising. How will the radical element of the Muslim community respond? Will they reveal their extremism and embarrass South Africa on the global stage?

It will also be interesting to see the response of Arab and Muslim countries - will they boycott the tournament? It’s not like they add much in terms of Football ability so I don’t think it will leave the tournament any worse off. But just imagine the prospect of Israel and Iran being drawn in the same World Cup group.

This campaign presents Israel with one of their best chances for qualification since their last appearance almost 40 years ago. Israel is in Group Two of the European sections. The group is bereft of all big European names and the three prime contenders for qualification will be Israel, Switzerland and Greece.

So if world cup qualification occurs regionally, (African groups, European groups, South American groups etc) why does Israel struggle to qualify when they are surrounded by Arab nations not exactly renowned for their footballing (or any sporting) genius?

The answer – Israel’s hostile neighbourhood refuses to allow her to participate in their Middle-Eastern/Asian groups. FIFA really has no choice but to tolerate and appease. I don’t think Israelis would feel very comfortable playing a key qualifier in Teheran!

So, instead of qualifying via the easy route of her regional group, Israel instead has to qualify in the much more difficult European groups. Last time around, Israel narrowly missed out in a daunting group which included France, Ireland and Switzerland.

Israel’s current campaign got off to a bumpy start at home to Switzerland. Switzerland was 2 up with just 20 minutes remaining when Israel managed to pull off a remarkable recovery. It ended 2-2 after a last minute strike from Chelsea (on loan to Portsmouth) striker Ben Sahar. The first goal in the comeback came from Liverpool playmaker Yossi Benayoun.

In their second game of the campaign, Israel beat Moldova 2-1 in Moldova, thanks to strikes from Omer Golan and Klemi Saban.

Last night Israel clinched a critical away victory when they beat Luxembourg 3-1 with goals from Yossi Benayou, Omer Golan and (Israeli Arab) striker Salim Toama. The victory places Israel in a strong position thanks to Luxembourg’s shock earlier victory over Switzerland.

Greece currently tops the group with 9 points and Israel trail by two. The double-header between Israel and Greece could determine who tops the group.

The winner of the group automatically qualifies for the World Cup and the top 8 runners-up will proceed to the play-offs. Finishing second could mean a play-off final against one of the giants of European football. Israel simply must win this group.

Israel's next fixture is Wednesday night away to Latvia. It's another must-win game. The big game that night will be Greece verse Switzerland. A Greek victory will almost rule out Switzerland's chances but will also strengthen their position at the top, so let's hope for a draw.

I am under no illusions of the pressure that Israel’s qualification could bring to the Jews in this country. Accusations of divided loyalties and violent protests will make for an uncomfortable time. But I don’t care. Bring it on . Ya’lla Israel Ya’lla!

Qwelane: Homosexuality akin to Beastiality

Jon Qwelane is at it again. This time his mean spirit has (again) been directed towards homosexuals. Writing in the nation’s biggest daily, the Sunday Sun, Qwelane equated homosexuality with beastiality.

Professor Pierre de Vos has more at Constitutionally Speaking.

Qwelane has recently been infamous for his inflammatory anti-Jewish statements on Channel Islam International.

Speaking of Jews (not Israelis, though that distinction shouldn't matter) in America, Qwelane recently said:

“Those are the people who control America. Those are the people who control the European Union, control the World Bank. Those are the people who control the IMF.”

Responding to a caller who denied the Holocaust Qwelane replied:

“I always say that if it is true that these people suffered, in the way that is always being portrayed then how come they have not learnt any lessons? You cannot by any stretch of the imagination go and visit the same hardships, the same sufferings on someone else.”

Update: Apologies - this was old news and occured some time in July earlier this year.

UN Human Rights Council: Sewer of scum and villainy

This week the democracy of tyranny that is the UN Human Rights Council set into motion the draft resolution that will soon become the20th condemnatory resolution against Israel in the past 2 years. Since the UN Human Rights Council was reformed 2 years ago, 24 condemnatory resolutions have been passed and an outrageous 20 of them have been directed against Israel.

The resolution was drafted during the agenda item dealing with Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights. This is the only country specific item on the UN HRC agenda. Not a single other country specific agenda item exists. As Hillel Neuer of UN Watch so puts it:

“The states that say they oppose country specific items are the ones that sponsor this very item. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the UN expressed disappointment at the council’s decision to single out one specific agenda item given the range and scope of regional items of allegations of human rights violations around the world.”

There is absolute and unanimous consensus that the singling out of only the black kids at school would be racist. So why then, is there no consensus that the singling out of only the Jewish kids constitutes anti-Semitism?

During the session, the various speakers once again raised the levels of incitement against Israel, like a filthy sewer spewing forth its scum and stench, speaker after speaker joined teh chorus of anti-Israel invective.

Despite the grim historical ties that former Palestinian leader Haj Amin Al-Husseini had with Adolf Hitler, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN once again compared the Israelis to Nazis.

“The Palestinian people, tormented by persecution and humiliation, mirror the past suffering of Jews in Europe... This occupation, which has transformed Gaza into a large concentration camp and the West Bank into isolated Ghettos, cannot be sustained.... Israel knows exactly the meaning of concentration camps and ghettos!"

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was in attendance, and didn’t utter a single word of dissent.

Click below to view a UN Watch recording of the session, along with Hillel Neuer’s forthright response.