Zuma zooming ahead...Eish!

Ok, I am going to admit it... I am not a Zuma fan. For many reasons, but mainly because I question his ethics. Sadly, I am also totally frustrated with Mbeki's inability to communicate to our people and deliver on important promises [I am not saying that delivery is easy BUT it would always be better to communicate realism rather than political crap]. Not really a political approach however [ I tend to be a little of a idealist]. In my view South Africa needs a mix of Zuma’s people personality [not sure if I would go so far as saying charisma] and his ability to gather the ‘troops’ on the ground mixed with Mbeki pragmatism and diplomacy [questionable at this point as he seems to be battling to communicate with his own country]. That mix would make an interesting presidential candidate.

It was pretty alarming for me to see that Zuma is leading
the ANC nomination race…. not just by a few points BUT by an enormous amount…. How can this be so? What the hell is going on? Have the voters got their eyes and ears closed…? I may be missing something [please let me know if I am].
What is a frightening prospect for me is having Zuma running the country [stands to reason that the newly elected ANC president will become the next Country president] when he has had so many brushes with the law. Perceptions are in some cases more powerful then reality and it worries me that people would cast aside certain legal realities that Zuma is facing and still vote for him? Where are the ethics in that? I am sure many believe in the so-called conspiracy ‘theory’ which is meant to 'defame' Zuma as a chauvistic and fraudulent money-grabbing politician. This may or may not be the case, but the fact that so many people are even discussing it brings his credibility into question. That is my issue....

I still see the value in bringing a credible business person in as a presidential option. Someone that has made money and been successful at running a large business. Running a country may be a little more complicated than running a business but in the end its all about Leadership, something that both existing candidates seem to be lacking… [Mbeki clearly more than Zuma]. This whole story reminds me a little of the Bush and Kerry ‘race’. It is dangerous for a country when there is a lack of clear leadership. People sadly feel they have no choice but to pick the ‘best’ of a bad bunch… and in America's case that lead to an extension of a war and many more dead bodies...Sad.

Izzy's funny catering clip

Right... !...Time for some laughter! This is without doubt one of the funniest clips I have seen for ages....

ENJOY!

Zero Tolerance my backside!!!

After listening to the oke from the Metro police on 702 going on about zero tolerance this morning [even applying to taxis] you would think the heavy handed approach would be 'general' festive season standard...RIGHT? WRONG! These images are from the same spot that the arrest incident happened .. these are from the morning of the court case 15 November 07!

Images not so good, 2 many and 2 big... but you get the drift..In Image 7 the Metro police stand an look on whilst this whole affair takes place under their noses... any arrests???NOT!

Thanks Paul for your post!

JHB Metro: "To serve, protect" and arrest

Hold onto your seats this is a long one...

A friend of mine was arrested yesterday, see the link for turning left in an area of the road where she should have used the slip road. She said she had indicated left up till the end of the road and no one let her in so she simply went forward and indicated to turn left once the traffic light had turned green and it was clear of no other vehicles. Once she had done so a Metro cop stopped her and told her she was under arrest! Yet surprise, surprise could not tell her what she was arrested for.

This is frightening for many reasons but mostly because, a more law-abiding citizen you would not find!

She was arrested at 6.50am [thrown into the back of the metro police 4 x 4] and was only released last night after 9pm…to appear in court at 8.30am this morning to be told at 11pm by the Prosecutor that all 17 charges have been thrown out!

Her experience is horrific to say the least. 17 People altogether were arrested and they were humiliated in every way possible from things like:
• Getting thrown into a cell with real criminals (not to mention puppy size rats).
• Police were totally disorganized, arguing with each other completing the documentation incorrectly etc.
• Doing things like full body searches, for what?
• Laughing at them and saying things like 'you people just think you can pay your fines and get away with it, we are going to teach you a lesson’??
• One cop even said 'you are lucky you are in a group as we would have tortured you if you were on your own'.
• They were not offered food and drink from 7am-9pm. Is that what we call dignified, humane, democratic treatment..?
Ironically, not once in the whole ordeal did anyone ask to see her ID/license? What bothered me the most about her story is the horrific power trips and revolting bully behaviour of the police and how we as civilians can be treated like hardened criminals and these so called ‘protectors’ get away with it.

Is this what we are going to accept as the norm in this country? I feel more afraid of the police now than ever before…

Some of these people are now laying a civil claim, but why should this kind of thing happen in a country that already has such limited policing resources? It almost feels like the police targeting regular people to make an example…? We are sitting ducks and the poor are in a worse situation I am sure. Some of these people are now so traumatized they have to seek physiological help. Sadly those that could not afford a lawyer had to stay longer... Why should people have to spend money fighting the country’s public servants for insignificant things, when it is really real crime and HIV/AIDS we should all be fighting together.

Surely police resources would be well spent actually catching people that are harming others? It is interesting though when you hear of how the police seem to try and cover their tracks when the journalists arrive and how they try and change the story making up what the charge is... like not wearing seatbelts which is a total lie.
To me, when I hear things like this it sounds like we are a lost and lawless society where civilians are not protected from their own police force.. is this sounding familiar to anyone?

It is really depressing and we need to stop this apparent God complex happening within the Metro police [they are clearly doing nothing to help their PR] they also need to remember that they are really servants of the country. I am also tired of hearing that this is an 'isolated incident', how many of those do you need before you have a state if emergency??
No person deserves the kind of treatment these people got, that could have been your wife [with your children], daughter, son, mother or father.

It’s so sad that these kinds of incidents give the country such a bad name. Good luck to us all for 2010 arrives…. Can you just imagine it? Lets hope we have our act together by then and the Metro police are actually protecting and not arresting civilians for ridiculous things. I agree that we need law on the roads but come on! Lets have some balanced policing 2!

[UPDATE: This morning 16/11/07 I heard 702 talking to one of the senior JHB Metro people about this 'incident'. As someone listening from the outside I agree with zero tolerance see my post its a looooong road BUT from the outside the 'operation' looks 'clean' and organised and it was far from that. I simply don't agree with the inhumane way these people were treated- only when experienced by someone you know do you realise the extent of the treatment. If you also checked out the reason that some of these people where arrested you would afraid.....like in this case - the cops themselves didn't know - wrong place, wrong time. There was no driving on a white/yellow line here! Excessive in my opinion and totally unacceptable. This round up and arrest strategy is not at all democratic and ruins peoples lives. I hope the Human Rights people do an investigation on this one and then 702 can bring that Metro okie back for another round.!]

Time Casuality...

It would be interesting to throw this one ‘out there’ and see what the response is….

I think its really difficult to maintain friendships in this day and age…..I mean real friendships…not the shallow surface kind... The time problem has not just been noticed by me …..everyone seems to be just as busy…. Pressured.

For me, the reality is with what little spare time I have nowadays, I would rather spend it with my family, as I don’t see them as often as I would like. I am also a little bit of a recluse outside my normal working day, I like quiet reflection time whenever I can get it [which is not often, as the silence is often shattered with the word ‘mommy’]. Don't get me wrong, it’s not that my friends are not important, because they certainly are, it’s just that fitting it all in is a problem….

At one point actually, I thought the problem was 100% me. I have NO doubt that I am a contributing factor, but it seems to be that way for almost everyone I know. One of the reasons I like Facebook is the speed you can check up on your friends etc, but the downside is the lack of direct human interaction.

In my head I keep hearing the word balance…and in the end that is what I am aiming for, but I feel like I am at constant war with myself! On the friend front I feel bad all the time that I don’t see my friends as often as I would like [driving distances at night in JHB on my own is not my thing], but then again… they have time issues 2. So what is the solution?

My mother would tell me to ‘make time’ and say things like ‘if they are really true friends they will understand’, that may be the case, but in the end every situation is relative I suppose. The world is sadly becoming a more insular place, as people pull back from the ‘noise.’ We shouldn’t forget that we are all social beings and that we need friends… that's what makes us different. [Note to self: Candice… are you listening!?]

I need the blog...

When I first started blogging people kept saying 'How do you find the time?'.
What is fascinating is that I have become so used to it, its just not an issue. Nowadays I contribute to my company blog as well. Its fun and has become part of my daily [ok..nightly] routine. I'm not bored, sad or lonely [which tends to be the first thought in people's minds about bloggers]! Its a cool hobby..

Bryan a banner!...

This is very clever [and funny]! Kudos to the BDDO team!