Sowetan: Vital Mcbride evidence stolen in raid on court

Police beef up security over senior prosecutor

Thieves who raided the Johannesburg high court did not only remove the case docket of the R46 million FNB depot robbery – they also stole sensitive exhibits relating to Ekurhuleni Metro police chief Robert McBride’s case.

“I am not going to comment,” McBride said yesterday.

When he was pressed on the matter, he calmly said: “Please, stop trying to squeeze anything out of me broer.”

More.

NVDL: Is South Africa owned and run by the corrupt and the criminal? Because as far as I'm concenred the rule of law is sort of a show that no one is watching any more. Kids at school want to grow up to be gangsters. Pretty scary.

Metro police watched Court attack

Biggest SA robbery docket stolen

For about 10 minutes, Metro cops watched the men who had just brazenly raided the Johannesburg high court and removed sensitive evidence related to a R46 million bank robbery.

“The two Metro police had raced to the Joburg high court after getting radio message that there was a robbery there,” said Joburg Metro Police spokesman Wayne Minnaar last night.

More from Sowetan.co.za.

NVDL: This reminds me when I was a teacher at school. I'd write down disciplinary reports and then at the end of the class they would be swiped off my desk. Then there would be a disciplinary report on top of that and from there it became quite absurd. The situation in South Africa (re: the fight against crime) is hopeless. I'd like to be convinced otherwise...anyone care to try? Anyone think they can make a stab at making the case that crime's no big deal, and it's improving?

‘I want to choose my own wife’

The age-old African royal practice of choosing and appointing a wife for a king as the mother of the nation could be something of the past within the AmaMpondo, who this weekend welcomed a new king.

Addressing the nation in a ceremony to officially introduce him as the new Western Pondoland Kingdom head, King Ndamase Ndlovuyezwe Ndamase said he was against the practice of choosing a wife for a king.

Read the rest of this Sowetan Online story.

Sowetan: Violence rules in our schools

On my first day teaching in South Africa, and within 2-3 minutes, a student left his seat at the back of the class, walked right up to me and did a mock-head butt. I came away looking good - brave and sticking to my guns. But the real reason I didn't move away or even budge was because it was the last thing I expected. Had it been for real, I'd have had a face full of blood. And the reason for the physical charade was I was strenuously trying to verbally control the class, and when I called this kid on his behaviour, he was determined to show me (and his mates) who was boss.

Subsequently we got on fairly well, but I have to say, teaching has to rank as the worst job in South Africa...although I have to qualify this by saying at 'certain' schools. A friend of mine is 'happy and fulfilled', but her classes are small and her students are from very very wealthy families (who want results from their children).

Another incident I remember at this school was from a kid who wouldn't behave. The only way we were allowed to discipline the kids was to either write a 'disciplinary report' (which means admin/paperwork and a visit to the principal where the student then tells the principal what a shitty teacher you are, and inverts the whole thing into getting the teacher into trouble), or you can send the student out of the classroom for 5 minutes. This kid wouldn't budge, even though he was making it impossible to teach.

What then happens is you tell the kid to leave the class, he refuses, and you get a huge scene - with the result that even more time is wasted not teaching and with disruptions. The kids also try to incite you, and when you respond, they capture it on cellphone cameras. Cellphones are a whole different story!!!

The worst incident at the school was a dead white cat being given to one of the teacher's (a white teacher just to make clear the metaphor at work), and an attached note: 'You're Next'.

Violence rules in our schools

Well, the world IS a speck!

Dan Barker, South African animator’s involvement in Horton Hears a Who
Story by Nick Van Der Leek
Video by Mikale Barry

Blue Sky Studio’s newest film, Horton Hears a Who (based on a Dr. Seuss book) continues the magic we’ve been led to associate from that company (Ice Age, Robotos) The Horton script is great, performances (many of them) are awesome, and all of this is rendered with sparkling wit and precision by an army of animators, Dan Barker being one of them. Dan's signature scene (one of a whole bunch) is the ape cannon, shooting bananas at a fleeing Horton (Jim Carrey).

Dan was mostly involved in animating Horton and the Mayor of Whoville (Steve Carrell). Morton, a zippy blue mouse, is voiced by Knocked Up star Seth Rogen. Vlad, the evil misshapen vulture (voiced by Will Arnett) is another memorable character. There are many character besides, filling the movie to the brim with Seussian chaos.

For more go here.