The Global Community Tribunal

Playing cricket  is what distinguishes human civilizations from human proliferations. The pure facts that people multiply and prosperously occupy an area, does not yet qualify them self as a ‘civilization’. Only after researching and finding that that people actually play or played cricket, can one declare it to be a ‘civilization’.  

 
If one considers that the Americans do not play cricket, one can only agree with this observation!

 
Cricket constitute the ultimate form of human competitiveness. It requires muscle and brains. It demands the ability to strategies. It also demands the ability to focus, immense concentration, persistence and the personal discipline to restrain yourself and to keep a strait face even when you are in pain or feel done in by a wrong decision.    

 
It is the king of all sports and the Proteas of South Africa provides the perfect model on how this game should be played.

J.C.Grobler.  

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

Power gets unfairly blamed in the saying that says ‘power corrupts’. Its all a question of which was first, the chicken or the egg. As I see it, most politicians don’t need power for a transformation in character. They come ready-made and thoroughly corruptible into the job.

Take Mr. Giuliani, the New York hero of 9/11 for instance. ABC News reports: “Well before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior city officials tell the Blotter on ABC News.com.”

This is besides the revelation “that the city had provided a security detail for Nathan, who became Giuliani’s third wife after his divorce from Donna Hanover, who also had her own police security detail at the same time.” This was all hidden in cooked books as politico.com reports:” Politico.com reported yesterday that many of the security expenses were initially billed to obscure city agencies, effectively hiding them from oversight.”

Looking at the previous presidents chosen by the American people, it would seem that this one suites the job description just fine. If elected, the rest of the world would at least know that ‘what you see is what you get’.

J.C.Grobler.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

It would seem as if the ANC is heading towards electing Mr Jacob Zuma as its next leader and, by implication, as the next president of South Africa.

 
If the idea is to appoint specialists in specialized positions, this will be a good choice. With Zuma as president and Selebi as Commissioner of Police , South Africa will be able to make the most of the present crime wave and ensure a steady growth in crime rates. Mbeki however with leave the positive legacy behind that he paved the way for an improvement in the statistics by firing Pikoli and all those who could have stood in the way of growth.

 
Under Mbeki we have already shifted into the second slot when it comes to the murder rate. With the approaching Worldcup it is absolutely essential that we regain our position as the global leader when it comes to killing people.

J.C.Grobler.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

I personally can’t wait for 2010 and the World Cup. All the excitement and bustle of millions of visitors from abroad to South Africa will really get the adrenalin flowing.

 
What excites me most is the fact that, for once,  the world out there will have the opportunity to experience first hand what we are going through when we cry out  about crime in South Africa.   

 
The murder of Franz Richter and the robbery of the two Fifa delegates during the draw in Durban, gave me hope. Notwithstanding extra-ordinary security measures to protect these people, crime succeeded. Just think what’s going to happen to those millions of visitors in 2010, who  will not enjoy the same level of protection. They’re going to be slaughtered!

 
By that time all legal gun owners will be disarmed,  leaving criminals with their MK 47’s and stolen army and police automatic weapons free to pick-off their victims. With rich visitors  concentrated in specific regions I do believe that crime syndicates will shift their attentions to our visitors to help them make their stay in the country of the Rainbow Nation a memorable one.

 
Maybe the punters should open a betting section on how many murders will result from the World Cup.  If one takes our present murder rate of .496 per 1000 people and we accept that we will have, say,  2 million visitors,  that should leave us with a round figure of approximately 1000 visitor murders for the duration of the World Cup.

 
In regard to robberies we are fourth in the world with a national rate of 4.44 per 1000. According to my calculations this would provide our crime industry with an additional 9000 robberies. At say R2000 a piece,  this adds R18 million to our GDP.   

 
I really do not want to put our visitors off by scaring them. You don’t need to be afraid of being murdered. Your changes are 1 in 2000  leaving you with a sporting chance.  Robbery? Well the risk is a bit higher, say,  1 in 250 visitors. But please, don’t be put off. We want you here. We need you here. Come and experience Africa and see for yourself what South Africa has to offer. We guarantee you an experience of a live time - Not that a ‘lifetime’ in South Africa is all that long, but non the less …

 
J.C.Grobler.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

After posting the previous article on the riots in Paris I read a report on Sarkozy’s reaction  to it. What does he say? “My patience is at an end”. The blog reporting this makes the following comment:

“If Sarkozy wants an end to these kinds of riots, then he needs to emulate Rudy Giuliani in a zero-tolerance enforcement strategy. He needs more police on the streets of the banlieus, arresting people who flout the law. It will take a while for the point to get made, and it will likely provoke a rise in short-term violence. Re-establishing law and order is a must, thought, if Sarkozy wants to protect policemen and the French citizenry in the long term.”

 
The remark of Sarkozy is one to be expected of a man sucking up to the Americans and George Bush. The last remark is one that you would expect of an American. Do not they have all the quick fix answers and solutions in ready-to-use packaging available for the rest of the world?!  It makes me wonder why the same Giuliani strategy is not used to keep the Hispanics out of the US.

 
Although this riots culminated in crimes – don’t all riots? – the problem has nothing to do with the Rule of Law. It has everything to do with immigrants not being integrated in a host society. It is caused by people left out on the periphery with no hope, no vision of a better future and inhuman living conditions to contend with.   

 
You do not address this problem with police. That will only fuel the violence - one that does not need much to escalate and engulf the whole of Europe and the UK. For Sarkozy, who has been in office for less than six months, to state that his ‘patience is at an end”  scares nobody. One wonders what his emotional condition is going to be after a few years in office. It is politically immature. Its fine to allow the law to take its course, but it does not solve the problem.  Between the lavish visits to George Bush and marital problems at home he will need to realize that the time bomb in his backyard is perhaps more acute than the exiting Iranian threat.

 
J.C.Grobler.           

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

Riots have broken out in Paris again. More than 120 police men have been injured. Agence France-Presse reports that “Police unions said the violence was worse than the rioting that hit hundreds of French cities in October and November 2005”

It might be that the riots are even worse than reported.  Two years ago Jean-Claude Dassier of LCI, a French news station explained why he don played the riots because “  Politics in France is heading to the Right and I don’t want Right-wing politicians back in second or even first place because we showed burning cars on television.”

“Police and politicians say the French suburbs remain a “tinderbox” two years after the last riots, which exposed France’s failure to integrate its large black and Arab population, the children and grandchildren of immigrants from its African colonies.

“This is no place for human beings to live,” said local resident Boniface Gabo, pointing up at his grimy tower block. “Make no mistake, every hundred kids who grow up here are a hundred lost kids.”

 
We live in a changing world – changes which, due to the acceleration of history,  can only take place on a revolutionary scale . We have lived and enjoyed the upside. The downside  is glaring at us and it makes me afraid …….

 
J.C.Grobler.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

We live in a beautiful country.  None become more aware of it than those who have or are considering emigration. This raises the question whether we should not do more to make South Africa more hospitable and safe. What else can we do to counter crime and to provide our young people with a promising vision of the future?

 
The people who are their to fight crime, in the first place, is the South African Police Services. Without them and their total commitment,  the war against crime is lost  before we even start. In regard to them I must admit that I have  only been very negative and critical. This kind of attitude could have done nothing –other than breaking down whatever morale there may be left – to improve the level of service they render.

 
I however took note of the DA who annually announces a list of the best and the poorest police stations in the country. This made me think: What about some kind of positive motivation?

 
Shouldn’t  the South African public launch a project whereby  people have the opportunity to nominate good police men from whom we select a single name as the Best Policemen of the Month?  This can be done on a local/provincial level. We might even establish a trust fund from which a prize or trophy can be financed. What about a honorary list for those who are killed in the line of duty? What about their families they left behind?

 
Think about it. Just maybe some positive action from our side might provide the breakthrough.

 
J.C.Grobler.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

Some things seems to be inevitable as if written in God’s master plan for the universe. We can do nothing about it. What must happen will happen, no matter what we do to prevent it.

 
One such thing seems to be a major war with Iran. While the world is still busy trying to ensure that this country does not succeed in developing the necessary technology to develop nuclear weapons, it announces that it has developed a missile with a range of 1200 miles. This brings not only Israel but Europe as well into its reach.

 
This lessens the proof required of Iran’s nuclear capability to legally justify an invasion or a strike. It has the ability to deliver such device into the heart of NATO territory. Seen against the background of the hostile statements that had been made in the past, NATO does not need much more to strike pre-emptively.  

 
Any other rational government would have understood what risks are involved. The US  under the leadership of George Bush has already shown its desire to attack Iran and Bolton is working full steam on their case.  The US has an history of invasion and aggression (Iraq) with much less concrete evidence than what Iran is now presenting to them on a silver platter.

 
All the arguments that has been raised by Iran that its intentions in regard to the development of nuclear technology, are peaceful and friendly. are undone by this statement. Why would Iran need a missile with such a far reach?

 
The saying goes “mit der Dummheit  kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens”. – With stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.

 
J.C.Grobler.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

Annapolis and the Israeli/Palestinian summit is on its way. Although I do not have much hope, just maybe something miraculous might happen.

I have written a number of posts on the Israel/Palestinian subject. In the course of this I unfortunately used the names ‘Jews’ and ‘Israelis’ as synonyms. It was quickly pointed out to me that it is wrong. I was even accused of anti-Semitism. I tried my best in later posts to avoid the same mistake but again I was insulted and smeared, up to a point where I do no longer know what the difference between Jews and Israelis are.

I tried to do some research on typical Jewish/Israeli sites. What I found is that the names are used in a way that suites the writers argument. Whether Jew or Israeli, when it comes to Arabs, it is almost impossible to spot the difference.

So, I went even further and read a lot about Zionism. Wikipedia describes it as follows:

“Zionism is an international political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish People in the Land of Israel.^[1] Although its origins are earlier, the movement was formally established by Austrian journalist Theodor Herzl in the late nineteenth century. The international movement was eventually successful in establishing the State of Israel in 1948, as the world’s first and only modern Jewish State. It continues primarily as support for the state and government of Israel and its continuing status as a homeland for the Jewish people.^[2] Described as a “diaspora nationalism,”^[3] its proponents regard it as a national liberation movement whose aim is the self-determination of the Jewish people.^[4]”

^{In another Zionist site the following statement is made:}

“Zionism wanted to establish this homeland in Palestine, but there were many discussions on alternatives, where the use of land in Africa was perceived as a faster route to the final establishment of a Jewish state.” I wondered by myself which African location they would have preferred, land Goshen or Sandton, Johannesburg?!

Then I read what a Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum said about Zionists”

“…it is our obligation to make it known in order that everyone should understand that the Zionists are not the nation of Israel… and it is most definitely our holy obligation to announce before those nations of the world that the Zionists are not the spokespeople of the nation of Israel…”

The relevant posts goes on to state:

“It (labeling people ‘anti-Semitic’) has been a handy and effective weapon which has destroyed countless careers and is responsible for the totally illegitimate Zionist regime. Zionists have cleverly suggested for a hundred years, by smearing their critics as ‘anti-Semites,’ that the Zionists are the legitimate conquerors of Palestine. Zionists have never actually SAID they were Semitic - just that their enemies are ‘anti-Semitic.’ Pretty neat…and completely dishonest. But in light of the genuine anti-Semitism of the Zionists it becomes a bizarre obscenity when these non-Semitic aliens accuse their Semitic victims of ‘anti-Semitism’. “

Then I suddenly realized: These persons writing to me are neither Jews nor Israelis. They are Zionists and they use anti-Semitic labeling as a weapon against people with whom they disagree.

I was satisfied that I understood what was going on. They are not in it for healthy discourse and argument. They just want to offend anyone who disagrees with them or stands in their way. I summarily terminated any further communication with these people. As is the case with Arab extremists, Muslim Funadamentalists and international terrorists, I do not think they are good company.

J.C.Grobler.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This

Ibhubezi writes “I think it is time that the government realizes that the struggle is over. The war is over.” This country is now a democracy.” From the perspective of our new politicians, he may be right. Their struggle has been fought and they have succeeded. Their struggle is indeed over. They are now dripping of the fat of the country.

The only war they are involved in is fighting justice. For them - and seemingly for the people that vote for them - winning office in a ‘democracy’ is a kind of franchise which entitles you to take bribes and steal as much as you can within an allotted department or institution. As far as any other reference to ‘war’ is concerned, I do not know to which war he refers. We never made war amongst ourselves. When the ANC killed innocent civilians with bombs and limpet mines and the NP tortured and murdered them right back, that was not war.

With innocent civilians hiding behind fences and walls; being killed, tortured, raped and robbed by gangs of gunmen – all this happening at a grand scale - this is war. The only unique feature of it is that we are unable to fight back. Our government is in cahoots with these criminals and do not wish to end crime. It would be insane, seeing that they’re getting fat from it. A police force that refuses to assist citizens against criminals, suits them just fine. Incapacitating the nation by disarmament and laws that denies us the right to defend ourselves, are all part of the master plan. It secures their ‘franchises’.

Ibhubezi, you seem to be a very good person and I ache to think that people like you are living through this hell. But we are not part of the war. We are neither the aggressor nor the defender. We and our things are the prize. O, Life is beautiful in our New South Africa. So, make sure that your cupboards are neat, that you last will and testament is in order and that you wash your feet before you go to bed tonight. Maybe tonight its you and your family’s turn to be tortured, raped and executed. Maybe its mine … We do not know. We just sit and wait ………!

J.C.Grobler.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Share This