Friday, January 13, 2012

Another Day, Another Armed Robbery (Again)

They say Africa isn't for sissies: today I was visiting the home of Dennis and Sally Polack, to work on their Fishwise Pro web site, We had just finished lunch when Sally started screaming: an armed robbery was in progress at their house.
They had already tied up two of the farm workers and robbed them of cash and cell phones, and were now intent on taking whatever they could from the main house. One of the bastards pointed a firearm at me, although somewhat briefly. Then he ran away when he heard me calling to Dennis to get his firearm.
I called 10111 and the cops were here in minutes. They were amazing. They might even have got the guys once they ran away. It turns out there were 8 of them. The problem is to know when or whether they will be back.
Crime affects us all: I have been mugged twice, and my car broken into twice. My wife has been mugged, and been in 2 armed robberies when she worked at the bank. She saw a security guard shot and killed in front of her. Dennis was shot on his smallholding 4 years ago. My brother has been hijacked, and his house has been robbed. My in-laws have had their house burgled twice. My main client has had several laptops stolen during armed robberies, and had a few after-hours breakins as well. Cars have been stolen from the flats where we live, and three flats have been burgled.
And so the list goes on, while our glorious leaders try to deny the problem and make lame excuses. They are lazy, corrupt, greedy and inept. They deliberately under-fund the police, and siphon off government money in "arms deals" and dodgy tenders that lead to a lack of service delivery. One of these days we'll wake up and vote the criminals out of office. But by then the economy will be in tatters and all the good people will be dead or living in other countries.
Update: The male worker who was attacked first was threatened by being told the name of his 6-year-old son, who is currently visiting his granny. When I saw him he was in tears, shattered and scared for his safety and that of his family. The cold-blooded bastards who did this care nothing about the impact of their actions. They are usually high on drugs when they try this kind of stunt anyway. A pox on the lot of them!
Update 9pm: Dennis retuned from hospital with 22 stitches. He fell down the stairs during the robbery. He's fine but has a sore back.
Update 30 Jan 2012: The bastards came back, dressed in provincial police uniforms, and gained access to the house under the guise of wanting to take further statements. They made off with money and a pistol, and trashed Dennis' office. They also made off with two bunches of keys, so Dennis and Sally have to replace all the locks on all the buildings and outbuildings. Even their safe keys were taken. Hopefully these guys won't be back, but no-one is holding their breath.

Monday, January 02, 2012

Orwell Warned Us, But Will We Listen?

I just finished watching this documentary and I must say it is an eye opener, not only in the light of the political scandals in the UK over Murdoch and the phone hacking scandal, but also in the light of Wikileaks and the treatment of Bradley Manning. Even though it was made in 2003, Orwell Rolls in his Grave is even more relevant today than it was then. Unfortunately the news is less relevant, and getting even less relevant by the day. That's why they don't even understand what "Occupy Wall Street" is all about.