This is pretty unbelievable. So as most of you are probably aware, about two weeks ago there was a confrontation between striking platinum mine workers and the police in South Africa. The incident ended when police opened fire on the workers, killing 34 and injuring 78. Now here is where it gets interesting. South African prosecutors are apparently charging 270 of the striking workers with murder! Meanwhile, the police who actually killed them have yet to be charged. The Telegraph informs us that:
In a situation where there are suspects that confront members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and a shooting takes place resulting in the fatalities of either SAPS or the suspects, those who get arrested, irrespective of whether they shot police members or the police shot them, are charged with murder.
This sort of thing will be coming to America soon unless we stop being little pathetic sheeple and start being strong, proud and brave men and women.
Here is the article from USA Today on this topic.
In Liberty,
Mike
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this heres amazin stuff!!!!!!!!!!!
I was in South Africa in 1995, right after the transition. Mandela had placed very strict capital controls on money leaving the country and had promised free housing and medical care for everyone within 5 years. At that point in time, there were 5 million people engaged in productive economic activity and 35 million people living in abject poverty. No surprise that the productive citizens were leaving in droves in every possible way that they could, which included countless “vacations” where they exited the country with the maximum sum of money that the capital controls allowed. Fast forward to 2012 and one finds in South Africa a chaotic, lawless and dangerous society that has undergone a tremendous brain drain.
California is rapidly becoming South Africa. Impossible promises have been made to the non productive class. In the meantime, the productive citizens are leaving in droves and a police state environment is becoming the norm in any city of even moderate size.
Indeed, Mike, we do need to stop being little pathetic sheeple and start standing up together as a the strong, proud and brave people that we are. I hope that there are enough of us left.
There is another side to this that was not discussed here. When people are reckless and assaultive, and some of them die as a consequence, what responsibility do they bear for their recklessness and assaultiveness?
What you have to consider is what does it take to bring unarmed people to assault armed and trained soldiers? If you don’t answer that question you admit that the society is made of slaves, masters and the pretorian.
You’re assuming they were unarmed and also that USA Today is a reliable source of information. Dig a little deeper or wait and see…
Unarmed ? My foot ! This guys were armed with Machetes , spears and the odd gun. Whats more , they were wipped into a frenzie by a sangome ( witchdoctor, magic man etc ) that made this simple minds believe that bullets wont penetrate them . This are rather very uneducated , very emotional people wich can be easely manipulated by the real culprits.
@Walter, regardless of what weapon they had, they killed to policemen before this indecent. If you kill a human, and his friends have guns what do you expect.
Also they where not influenced by sangomas as much as they where influenced by Julius Malema. He is to blame as he was and is still aggravating the miners by telling them to “make the mines ungovernable” like how he did this week. He is the one who is creating this idea in poor black people’s minds that they are owed wealth and don’t need to work for it like the rest.
Banktrupt California won’t be able to afford police soon! Racial goon squads for like!
Maybe I’m wrong, if so please correct me, but I understand that in the USA a similar, not the same, law applies. Namely, if a group is for whatever reason confronting the police, or authorities and anyone in the group fires THE FIRST SHOT, injuring noone, then if in the return fire, THE POLICE shoot someone dead, ALL MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSING GROUP CAN BE CHARGED WITH MURDER, based on the first shot principle.
This may not be all that shocking. The doctrine of felony-murder is longstanding. If you are committing a felony and anyone gets killed as a result, regardless of who did the killing, the one committing the felony can be charged with murder.
That said, it remains to be seen if the strikers were really rioters or legitimate strikers. In the former case felony murder charges might well be appropriate.
Who IS this “we”? I am but a single individual.
It’s about time for this powerful “We” that I keep hearing about to start solving the world’s problems that it is so capable of solving, isn’t it?
While I am waiting for this “We” to get its act together, I will quietly continue to solve my own problems, and focus my own precious resources on the only viable path to freedom: Self-empowerment.
After all, “public freedom” is just as preposterous a notion as “public servants” and “public property”. Freedom of the individual is the only kind of freedom there is.
The most collectivist term in the English language is “We”. The most collectivist phrase is “if enough people”. But just for humor, here is just one more harmless little exercise in collectivist daydreaming: “If enough people” focused all of their personal resources on actual self-empowerment, instead of at collective initiatives where the single individual’s participation does not change the outcome at all – then the oppressive yolk of those who rule their fellow humans would disintegrate as the market rises to fill the demand for self-empowerment technologies and techniques.
But the phrase “if enough people” is always and without exception impotent collectivist daydreaming. Face it: “If enough people” actually did the right thing, then that would happen regardless of whether or not you wished for it, or participated. On the other hand, well thought out self-empowerment efforts lead to maximum freedom – and the wonderful part is, self-empowerment works regardless of what the greater “We” does.
Thoughtful. Thanks!
What no-one has seen fit to point out yet is that the miners were armed to the teeth with pangas, knobkerries and some guns, so knowing that 2 of their collegues had been hacked to death (and mutilated) the day before it’s hardly surprising that the police panicked and shot randomly when they saw a crowd of 3000 coming towards them!
Absolutely true Lesley!
Hi Mike, I actually live 1 hour’s drive from this mine in South Africa. Your post is bias and this is why: The protesters killed 2 policemen and had firearms used to shoot at the police, there after the police opened fire to literally survive. The international media are only focusing on the sensationalism, and not on the whole story. What would you do in this situation if you where a policeman, die?
The second point to make is regarding the reason they are sticking. Julius Malema the suspended ANC Youth League boss has been visiting the miners since before the tragedy, even though he is suspended. He has been giving these miners unattainable salary expectations. They are striking for a R12k+ salary per month. In South Africa it’s hard for skilled labor with degrees to earn that money due to the high unemployment. How is an unskilled laborer worthy of the same salary? The miners are actually starting to turn on Malema now as they are the ones who lost out here, they where pushing his political agenda and are now jobless. Malema is also pushing to have the mines nationalized, I agree to some extent this is better than having AngloAmerican take such high profits off the backs of South Africa miners.
Then lastly, there is another problem. The miners below to 2 unions who where suppose to protect and help them, but the 2 unions are fighting each other while using the laborers are chess pieces.
Hope this clarifies this situation a bit.
I hope the families find peace in the dire situation.
Regards and love your blog.
On semantics, I have been thinking about the phrase, ” Wouldn’t it be a good idea if ….?” which can be heard in so many situations. The immediate response, at least MY knee jerk response is “Probably not:” because if it really was a good idea, then someone , somewhere, would already be doing it. Perhaps “we ” can learn a little more scepticism.
There is an incredible amount of speculation coming from many ill informed and quite opinionated people regarding the events surrounding the Lonmin Platnimum mine strike in South Africa.
As a South African very involved in the actual day to day events there allow me to enlighten you chaps with just a few of the apparently unreported facts.
1/ This conflict is NOT as the headline calls it a “conflict between the Police and striking workers” The Police only intervened to try and avert the hottific bloodshed that was already in progress between the existing Union and a very small splinter union ( group of mindless savages, who threaten people with death to their families if they refuse to join them!! and have a proven history of not being shy to carry out their threats!! ) For those of you who think I exagerate a touch, a “deligthful” little snippet you would not have read in your politically correct newspapers was the casual act of the rival union in capturing the speaker from their oposition and sending a “message” out by slicing his lips off of his face in cold blood!!
2/ The Police were RETURNING fire from some of theses cowardly savages who were using AK 47’s…… from way back in the crowd! to which end many of the miners were shot by these ak47 weilding cowards at the back.
3/ Admittedly our police leave a lot to be desired in their panic stricken manner or procedures which probably also accounted for a number of unwarranted deaths, however that being said even well trained and hardened policemen could not be blamed for panicing too a degree considering what they had witnessed first hand the day before! Remember the subtlely headed story about two security officers and two policement dying the day before….!!?? Well for the record two of these men were brutally hacked up with machettes, knives and spears and whilst the security forces and police were NOT allowed to tender to the injured, were forced to retreat for more reinforcements, this savage mob casually loaded up these two horrifically injured men into their vehicle and set it alight, burning them alive!!! and all the police and security could do was retreat and watch from a distance listening to the screams of agony as the men slowly died!
4/ What everyone needs to register and very quickly, is that the majority of all union leaders here in SA don’t give a damn about their members. They see unions as a passage to personal wealth and like in Jay Naidoo’s case, a political springboard. They are ALL totally corrupt, take bribes, treat themselves like kings, driving fancy cars and living in lavish houses. The people are simply expendable cannon fodder in their malicious plans to procure personal wealth and power!
5/ Virtually no single individual can survive without joing the union!!
Anyone here not believing all this……….. COME ON DOWN and take a close up look for yourselves…………just don’t be foolish enough to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time or you might end up “chopped liver” , lipless, limbless or “braaiing” in your rented car!