Somalia pirates just making a statement "Back off".

Just like the rest of the world, you are probably thinking that the Somalia pirates are good for nothings, who are taking the easy way out, stealing peoples ‘gold’ like that. We have been punked. In all of this we have forgotten to ask why these people would do something so ancient like piracy, maybe like me you thought they do this just for the kick, or to fulfil childhood dreams of being ‘Captain eye patch’.
To be a pirate in Somalia is seen as an honour, something like the men used to feel in Britain when they went to war. They protect their waters from ‘predators’, who illegally fish there for profits, damage the Somalis economy and don’t pay. Somalia is one of the few countries that would not be considered a state, that do not have a government running things, this means that there are no laws hence there is no way of protecting the waters along their coast. European and Asian countries are seeing this as an opportunity to make huge profits (millions) by stealing the countries food supply through the pervasive illegal rummage of fish, lobster, and many other types of seafood.
Somalis pirates don’t do what they do to fulfil childhood dreams of being pirates; wearing eye patches and having hooks as hands. The world has not been made aware of the fact that there is a valid reason for the Somalis pirates doing what they do; the country is already living below the breadline, one in four girls actually attend school. Unless somebody in the country does something about the fact that countries are taking from their coast and not giving them compensation, the pirates will make sure that illegal poaching of their resources is kept to the minimum. The key to this is about survival trying to maintain that the country does not go worse of that it already is.

Fed-up with no education: Africa’s age-old problem

Food aid should not be sent to Africa, it’s a waste and will only lead to further problems. I’m baffled by the amount money donated to African charities by profile-raising celebrities and “no-strings-attached” countries. Logic has it that more money means more food means less starvation. Why is the ship still sinking? Why are people still going hungry, and the bread line still getting longer? I refer you to an article by The Times (UK): http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6886167.ece. This article is spot on. There is no doubt that blindly feeding corrupt countries like horses, is doing them no good – never mind that most of the money reaches only as far as the back pocket of a beaurocratic Congolese official before it miraculously turns into a Russian pistol. Where does this age-old problem lay hidden? In education. But how do we educate the uneducated in order for them to be able to educate the masses? Firstly, black-cat corporations who are capitalist driven selfish “entrepreneurs” must stop the exploitation that they are consciously doing. Loaning money, investing in oil and providing charitable aid is not helping poverty stricken countries. What would help is if these investors, instead of thinking of the next diamond they are going to buy for a mistress patiently waiting in a five-star hotel room, if they used their influence to highlight the need for education, not only in some media splurge but within their corporations. It has been an age old trick to make yourself feel better by swiping your credit card, but superficiality just isn’t acceptable.

Generation Of Swine

As student journalists we are heavily encouraged to read as much as we can, and this is something I strongly stand for. I have been an avid reader since a young age and it is something I have tried to get my younger brother to appreciate, through force and careful persuasion, but to no avail. He seems to appreciate the beauty and value in our great literary history but will not venture into this landscape of symbols and dreams. He is far more inclined to sit in front of the TV watching filth spewed out of Hollywood, LA or listen to electro music on full blast while “talking” to friends on his mobile. It takes me about 10 minutes to crack and start swearing at him whenever I go home for a holiday as all I want is for him to develop a relationship with literature. However, I recently came across a piece of writing that I think just might be able to plant the seeds of interest in him that in me have begun to bloom. It had to be by one of my favourite authors, Hunter S. Thompson, and I think that it will appeal to his adolescent ideology. It goes like this; “Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish – a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found out a way to live out there where the real winds blow – to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whiskey and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested...”

Reitz 4 walk, "in the name of reconciliation"

Shocking that 15 years into our democracy, some can still commit such acts of ‘racism’ like the four students at the University of Free States, even more shocking when those actions against human dignity are pardoned in the name of reconciliation.
Four students from the University of Free States(known as the reitz 4) were charged, for making the cleaners, as part of a prank, eat food that had been urinated on, the whole incident was recorded on video. The new Vice Chancellor, Prof Jonathan Jansen, said that that “the issue of racism will not be resolved in the courts, unless we do something differently.” I fail to see how students who have not taken the initiatives themselves, towards a South Africa full of ‘sunshine and roses’ can be forgiven; they have not made public apologies nor have they shown remorse for their actions. Dropping the charges will not in any way heal the past, in actual fact it will be a case were issues facing South Africa are zigzagged around and not dealt with head on. Problem is, we are scared of actually admitting that the students were wrong in what they did, lord forbid people don’t do such things in the new South Africa. It is not only because they were white and the cleaners were black but because they did something that undermines a persons dignity.
Issues like this are the reason South Africa will not move on, because people are trying to hard not to be racist. In lecture theatres when issues involving politics, like Black Economic Empower are so approached with the delicately everybody trying really hard to be politically correct (an opinion piece for another time). If South Africa wishes to move on from the politically correct society we are living in, then pardoning people for transgressions in the name of reconciliation should be, dropping the charges will not change the mindset of the students.
http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/d3e7bc1a742241f9a4462c1a622a6659/21-10-2009-10-31/Punish,_then_forgive_Reitz_4

what is love?

What is love?
Real love is unconditional. All other “forms” of love are not really love. Most parents and kids don’t love each other, most people in relationships don’t love each other, most people on the planet never experience unconditional love in their entire lives… or at least it sure looks that way. When you love someone and they have done wrong your love covers it all and you wonder why you cannot stay angry at them. Love is that look that your mother gave you when you were born .To love someone unconditionally means that you love the person exactly as they are, exactly as they were before, and exactly as they will be in the future – because people change all the time, so if you love the person, you will love them even if they become something you disagree with. How many parents can say that about their kids? How many people can say that about their “lover”? Love is not about you or your pleasure or your amusement. It’s not about what you get out of it or what the other person can give to you. It’s not about having a trophy you can show off with and tell people “This is *MY* girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband/son/daughter/whatever”. You do not “own” anyone. It’s not about you feeling ‘proud’ to be with someone who always agrees with everything you say and do and never does anything you disagree with. Unconditional love means that the person can just live their life exactly as they choose and you will always be there for them no matter what. Possessiveness is not love, Jealousy is not love, Lust is not love, Fear is not love, Keeping people all to yourself is not love, Expecting something from someone is not love

Selebi Trial

Former National Commissioner of SAPS Jackie Selebi is currently a guest at the High Court, where he stands as the accused in a much publicised corruption trial. He faces two charges of corruption and one of defeating the ends of justice relating to payments he allegedly received from ex-Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach, and slain mining boss Brett Kebble and his associate Glenn Agliotti, who is accused of murdering Kebble. This all makes for an intense and interesting case, and if the allegations prove to be true the consequences are immense. It would provide an inexplicable link between Selebi and the murder of Brett Kebble, and would seem that Agglioti may have acted as Selebi’s assassin, sent to murder Kebble.

Out of this charge many other interrelated cases of fraud and corruption have been popping up. “Convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti stood firm in his conviction that payments made to former top cop Jackie Selebi were innocent gestures of generosity, the High Court in Johannesburg heard of Friday.” In an attempt to save Jackie Selebi, State Witness Agliotti has attempted to wave off the whole accusation, claiming that the payments made to Selebi were merely gifts."I've helped friends before. I've given presents to friends before. That's just how I am," he said during cross-examination during Selebi's corruption trial. Defence lawyer Jaap Cilliers put forward the notion that benevolence was Agliotti's general intention in paying Selebi and other friends money. The way I see it, Agliotti gave Selebi a ‘gift’ so that he would shut his mouth if a murder case was ever opened against him.

News commentary - AWB Re-Launch

I got interested in the South African Afrikaner political party the AWB (Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging), after watching Louis Theroux, a British investigative journalist. He was doing a story on racism in South Africa, which no doubt led him to Eugène Terre'Blanche. This is a link to videos of his programme on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=louis+theroux+south+africa&search_type=&aq=f
I recently came across an article about the re-launch of the AWB by Terre’Blanche himself. However, the article was further spiced up as the writer compared both Terre’Blanche and Julius Malema, as they had been throwing insults at eachother. I laughed when the writer said that they “have fired volleys at each other in what is sure to be one of the most entertaining battles ever fought in the South African political arena.” I smile at the thought of two strong minded gusto leaders defending what they view as right. Never mind that Malema has been seriously slammed in the media for being untactful and stupid. If you go back and look at past stories about the actual re-launch of the AWB you can watch a video of Terre’Blanche’s speech. I always wonder what goes through his mind, the scary thought that his ideologies are so deeply entrenched him. I urge everyone to watch the Louis Theroux documentary and while you at it all his other stories, which are equally as interesting.