Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Office Space Available at Reasonable Rates [PHOTO]
Red Sea Shark Serial Killer: Scientists Puzzled
Reuters – Tourists are seen at a beach at which swimming and diving is prohibited at the Red Sea resort of Sharm …
It began 10 days ago when the normally pristine tropical waters turned a murky red, after sharks mauled three Russians and a Ukrainian over a two-day period. With the world-renowned snorkel and dive center heading into the holiday high season, local governor Mohammed Shosha closed off the beaches for 48 hours, during which time the authorities killed two sharks. He then declared the all clear and reopened the beaches. But within 24 hours, in keeping with the Jaws story line, it became brutally clear that Shosha had been wrong: a German woman standing chest-deep in the water was killed by another shark. (Read "Humans and Sharks: Why Can't We Be Friends?")
"We did some efforts last week but I think we failed," Salem Saleh, director of the town's Tourism Authority told TIME on Monday. He acknowledged that the sharks responsible for the killings are probably still at large. The resort, which Egyptian authorities say draws some 4 million tourists every year, has become the site of an international biological murder mystery.
Over six days, five swimmers were attacked by sharks. That compares to just six attacks over the previous decade in Egypt, according to the Global Shark Attack File, a scientific archive that documents shark attacks worldwide. And at least six of those 11 incidents are believed to have involved the solitary oceanic whitetip - a shark species that doesn't usually rank among the top killers. More startling still is that the clear, coral-rimmed waters off Sharm el-Sheikh aren't exactly shark central. "The last sharks I saw were maybe four or five months ago," says Sherrif Khairat, a local dive instructor, who leads two or three dives a day. A shark sighting is considered "lucky," he says, because the animals are so rare.
And then the story gets downright creepy: scientists and government authorities declared Wednesday night, after a day of preliminary investigations, that at least two of the five attacks had been carried out by a single shark - a lone "serial attacker," says shark expert George Burgess, one of three American scientists flown in to find answers. "This is a really unusual event - not just because they occurred so close to each other in such a geographic space, but because of the fact that we can actually say with certainty that one individual shark was involved in two of them without fail," he says. "That has not been documented before."
SHOOT: I've often thought that people swimming in the sea don't only make easy meat for sharks [it's not contest to catch a human if you're a shark] but also a fairly plentiful food source compared to seals etc. And if your food supply is less than ideal, aren't people a perfect substitute?
Read the rest of this story here.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Testimony: Dewani wanted wife dead
SHOOT: No surpises there. In fact I wonder how many South Africans use the criminal fabric towards their own ends on an almost everyday basis. Look at Brett Kebble who arranged his own murder for goodness sake.
Full story by Ben Maclennan
Full story by Ben Maclennan
Cape Town - Shrien Dewani plotted his wife Anni's murder, the Western Cape High Court was told on Tuesday.
The revelation was made by Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Rodney de Kock, during plea agreement proceedings.
"The deceased was murdered at the instance of her husband," he told Judge President John Hlophe.
In terms of the agreement, Hlophe sentenced Zola Tongo, 31, to an effective 18 years jail.
Not a hijacking
"The alleged hijacking was in fact not a hijacking, but part of a plan of subterfuge which Shrien Dewani, the husband of the deceased, and the accused had designed to conceal the true facts, to wit: that the deceased was murdered at the instance of her husband," said De Kock.
De Kock said Tongo took the couple from Cape Town International Airport to the Cape Grace hotel on the city's Waterfront on November 12.
After their arrival at the Cape Grace, Shrien asked Tongo to procure a hitman to have "a woman" killed for R15 000.
In a formal admission, handed in to court as part of the agreement, Tongo said he freelanced as a shuttle operator from Cape Town International Airport.
On November 12, he was waiting for fares at the airport when Shrien asked him to take him and Anni to the Cape Grace.
"After we arrived at the hotel, Shrien Dewani approached me alone and asked me if I knew anyone that could 'have a client of his taken off the scene'.
"After some discussion with him, I understood that he wanted someone, a woman, killed.
Willing to pay R15 000
"He said he was willing to pay an amount of R15 000. Shrien Dewani said he had US dollars and could pay in US dollars."
Tongo said later that day he spoke to a friend about arranging a hitman. The friend put him in touch with the other two men who have been arrested in the case. They met in Tongo's vehicle in Khayelitsha on the afternoon of November 13.
"We agreed that Shrien Dewani and I would be ejected from the vehicle and that the female occupant had to be killed."
He picked up Shrien and Anni at the hotel that night and took them to some "city sights", before going to the intersection in Gugulethu where the hitmen were supposed to be.
They were not there, so he continued in the direction of Somerset West where the Dewanis had supper.
"Prior to entering the restaurant, Shrien Dewani asked me what was happening and said he wanted the job done that night."
While the Dewanis were having supper, one of the hitmen called Tongo and confirmed they would be at the agreed location.
Tongo said at one point in the vehicle, while he was driving around with the couple, he sent a text message to Shrien not to forget about the money.
Shrien replied by SMS that the money was in an envelope behind the front passenger seat.
Hitmen waiting
The hitmen were waiting as arranged at the intersection of NY112 and NY108, in Gugulethu.
They carried out the fake hijacking and drove for a short distance before ordering Tongo out of the vehicle.
"They then drove off with Shrien Dewani and the deceased still in the vehicle.
"I knew that [the hitmen] would not harm Shrien Dewani and that he would be dropped off at some further point. I also knew that the deceased would be kidnapped, robbed and murdered... after Shrien Dewani had been ejected from the vehicle in accordance with the plan."
The revelation was made by Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Rodney de Kock, during plea agreement proceedings.
"The deceased was murdered at the instance of her husband," he told Judge President John Hlophe.
In terms of the agreement, Hlophe sentenced Zola Tongo, 31, to an effective 18 years jail.
Not a hijacking
"The alleged hijacking was in fact not a hijacking, but part of a plan of subterfuge which Shrien Dewani, the husband of the deceased, and the accused had designed to conceal the true facts, to wit: that the deceased was murdered at the instance of her husband," said De Kock.
De Kock said Tongo took the couple from Cape Town International Airport to the Cape Grace hotel on the city's Waterfront on November 12.
After their arrival at the Cape Grace, Shrien asked Tongo to procure a hitman to have "a woman" killed for R15 000.
In a formal admission, handed in to court as part of the agreement, Tongo said he freelanced as a shuttle operator from Cape Town International Airport.
On November 12, he was waiting for fares at the airport when Shrien asked him to take him and Anni to the Cape Grace.
"After we arrived at the hotel, Shrien Dewani approached me alone and asked me if I knew anyone that could 'have a client of his taken off the scene'.
"After some discussion with him, I understood that he wanted someone, a woman, killed.
Willing to pay R15 000
"He said he was willing to pay an amount of R15 000. Shrien Dewani said he had US dollars and could pay in US dollars."
Tongo said later that day he spoke to a friend about arranging a hitman. The friend put him in touch with the other two men who have been arrested in the case. They met in Tongo's vehicle in Khayelitsha on the afternoon of November 13.
"We agreed that Shrien Dewani and I would be ejected from the vehicle and that the female occupant had to be killed."
He picked up Shrien and Anni at the hotel that night and took them to some "city sights", before going to the intersection in Gugulethu where the hitmen were supposed to be.
They were not there, so he continued in the direction of Somerset West where the Dewanis had supper.
"Prior to entering the restaurant, Shrien Dewani asked me what was happening and said he wanted the job done that night."
While the Dewanis were having supper, one of the hitmen called Tongo and confirmed they would be at the agreed location.
Tongo said at one point in the vehicle, while he was driving around with the couple, he sent a text message to Shrien not to forget about the money.
Shrien replied by SMS that the money was in an envelope behind the front passenger seat.
Hitmen waiting
The hitmen were waiting as arranged at the intersection of NY112 and NY108, in Gugulethu.
They carried out the fake hijacking and drove for a short distance before ordering Tongo out of the vehicle.
"They then drove off with Shrien Dewani and the deceased still in the vehicle.
"I knew that [the hitmen] would not harm Shrien Dewani and that he would be dropped off at some further point. I also knew that the deceased would be kidnapped, robbed and murdered... after Shrien Dewani had been ejected from the vehicle in accordance with the plan."
- SAPA
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Friday, December 03, 2010
Brief blip into my life at the moment
I'm in Montagu right now, drove through from PE at about 7pm and arrived at about 2:30am. Think this is the closest I have ever come to falling asleep behind the wheel. Had to be here though, to review a cottage which will not be available from today {Friday} onwards. And from here I am going to shoot Tinus de Jongh landscapes with my brother as planned a few weeks ago.
Yesterday was a nightmare; I was in court because I anticipated a case scheduled for January 14; one case against me was thrown out, so they went to another magistrate and so when I appeared before him {I wanted to, as soon as possible, that's why I had the anticipated} but now the magistrate didn't want to hear the case, said he didn't have time, and so the lawyer for my ex-flatmate then cynically and mischievously had the case postponed to February 28 without any input or consent from me. Boy are they in a hurry to prosecute their own bogus case! A few hours later I got to the police to collect a few things {I need an armed police escort to go and get my flatmate to unlock so I can get my things}. Police say I may not fetch my stuff, the lawyer has instructed them to bring them to the police station, all of it at once.
Since he knows {because I told him} I am now somewhat out of pocket he calls his buddy {must have been yesterday or today, more than likely today since the entire case was based on me asking for a month's notice so I could make arrangements for my things} tells him that my bike is for sale, and he can probably pick my bike up for a bargain. So the very next day his buddy phones me asking how much I want for my bike.
Have you ever encountered such low behaviour from fellow human beings? I think this plumbs a new low for me. And I think the newspapers will have a field day with this.
Yesterday was a nightmare; I was in court because I anticipated a case scheduled for January 14; one case against me was thrown out, so they went to another magistrate and so when I appeared before him {I wanted to, as soon as possible, that's why I had the anticipated} but now the magistrate didn't want to hear the case, said he didn't have time, and so the lawyer for my ex-flatmate then cynically and mischievously had the case postponed to February 28 without any input or consent from me. Boy are they in a hurry to prosecute their own bogus case! A few hours later I got to the police to collect a few things {I need an armed police escort to go and get my flatmate to unlock so I can get my things}. Police say I may not fetch my stuff, the lawyer has instructed them to bring them to the police station, all of it at once.
Since he knows {because I told him} I am now somewhat out of pocket he calls his buddy {must have been yesterday or today, more than likely today since the entire case was based on me asking for a month's notice so I could make arrangements for my things} tells him that my bike is for sale, and he can probably pick my bike up for a bargain. So the very next day his buddy phones me asking how much I want for my bike.
Have you ever encountered such low behaviour from fellow human beings? I think this plumbs a new low for me. And I think the newspapers will have a field day with this.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Annelie Botes "I don't like [some] blacks" vs Julius Malema "kill the whites"
Annelie Botes, 53, author of several novels, made the remarks last week in an interview with Rapport newspaper.
"I don't like black people," she told the paper, when asked what sort of people she disliked.
"I don’t understand them! ... I know they are people just like me. I know they have the same rights as me. But I do not understand them. And then I do not like them. I avoid them because I am scared of them."
Botes blamed black people for South Africa's violent crime problem, which had claimed the life of her neighbour, and said the violence showed blacks were "angry because of their own incompetence".
The writer has been pilloried for her remarks, with many people accusing her of being prejudiced and stuck in the past.
But a large number of people have also praised her honesty and defended her right "to like who she likes".
Botes told the Mail & Guardian newspaper she had received about 1 000 e-mails backing her remarks and that she still stood by her comments.
"Naturally, there are a lot of black people that I like very much. But I certainly meant what I said," she said.
SHOOT: South Africans should not polarise themselves, it makes the intractable problems we already have worse. That said, there seems to be aschizophrenia between reality and what people really mean. This is why corruption is the invisible evil eating at the fabric of society that it is. There is a schism between jobs, stated roles and intentions and what people actually do. But let's be realistic, in a country where the majority of people are black, it's okay to sing songs about killing white people. But for a minority person to say I don't like somke of the blacks...quite odd if you ask me. And she also tempered this statement by saying it is the criminal and the corrupt that she doesn't like, and some black folk she does like. Hellooo! This is life in South Africa - not really free or fair, but was it ever, for anyone?
HIV Aids stats
About 310 000 South Africans died of HIV in 2009, or just under 1000 deaths every day. Almost one-in-three women aged 25-29, and over a quarter of men aged 30-34, are living with HIV.
The overall number of annual deaths increased sharply from 1997, when 316,559 people died, to 2006 when 607,184 people died.
Here are the latest global estimates of the HIV/Aids pandemic, published by the UN agency UNAids.
Total infections at end 2009
World: Around 33.3 million people living with HIV, in a range of 31.4m to 35.3m.
By Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa: 22.5m
South and Southeast Asia: 4.1m
East Asia: 770 000
Latin America: 1.4m
North America: 1.5m
Western and Central Europe: 820 000
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 1.4m
Caribbean: 240 000
Middle East and North Africa: 460 000
Oceania: 57 000
New infections in 2009
World: 2.6m people became infected in 2008, down by 100 000 over 2008.
By region:
Sub-Saharan Africa: 1.8m
South and Southeast Asia: 270 000
East Asia: 82 000
Latin America: 92 000
North America: 70 000
Western and Central Europe: 31 000
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 130 000
Caribbean: 17 000
Middle East and North Africa: 75 000
Oceania: 4 500
Aids Deaths in 2009
World: Around 1.8 million people died from Aids-related causes in 2009, down by 200 000 over 2008.
By region:
Sub-Saharan Africa: 1.3m
South and Southeast Asia: 260 000
East Asia: 36 000
Latin America: 58 000
North America: 26 000
Western and Central Europe: 8 500
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 76 000
Caribbean: 12 000
Middle East and North Africa: 24 000
Oceania: 1 400
SHOOT: I've been tested, have you? I also think the current policy towards AIDS in SA is wrong. There should be a campaign to scare the bejesus out of everyone, just show the stats, show the funerals [at 1000 deaths a day, that's a lot] and let people see the swathe of death running through our country. The probolem is that it is invisible. Perhaps some people want it to remain so.
The overall number of annual deaths increased sharply from 1997, when 316,559 people died, to 2006 when 607,184 people died.
Here are the latest global estimates of the HIV/Aids pandemic, published by the UN agency UNAids.
Total infections at end 2009
World: Around 33.3 million people living with HIV, in a range of 31.4m to 35.3m.
By Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa: 22.5m
South and Southeast Asia: 4.1m
East Asia: 770 000
Latin America: 1.4m
North America: 1.5m
Western and Central Europe: 820 000
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 1.4m
Caribbean: 240 000
Middle East and North Africa: 460 000
Oceania: 57 000
New infections in 2009
World: 2.6m people became infected in 2008, down by 100 000 over 2008.
By region:
Sub-Saharan Africa: 1.8m
South and Southeast Asia: 270 000
East Asia: 82 000
Latin America: 92 000
North America: 70 000
Western and Central Europe: 31 000
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 130 000
Caribbean: 17 000
Middle East and North Africa: 75 000
Oceania: 4 500
Aids Deaths in 2009
World: Around 1.8 million people died from Aids-related causes in 2009, down by 200 000 over 2008.
By region:
Sub-Saharan Africa: 1.3m
South and Southeast Asia: 260 000
East Asia: 36 000
Latin America: 58 000
North America: 26 000
Western and Central Europe: 8 500
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: 76 000
Caribbean: 12 000
Middle East and North Africa: 24 000
Oceania: 1 400
SHOOT: I've been tested, have you? I also think the current policy towards AIDS in SA is wrong. There should be a campaign to scare the bejesus out of everyone, just show the stats, show the funerals [at 1000 deaths a day, that's a lot] and let people see the swathe of death running through our country. The probolem is that it is invisible. Perhaps some people want it to remain so.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)