Lonmin Mine Tragedy Marikana - My view

The Lonmin Mine Tragedy - Marikana

The most recent story that has claimed the headlines on most of our news channels/ radio and in the press is the tragedy we recently had at Lonmin Mine. Police opened fire on a group of striking workers on Thursday, killing 34 of them and wounding 78. Another 260 were arrested and charged with public violence. The total death toll was 44  -  2 Police Officers and 2 Security Officers also lost their lives.

This is truly a disturbing turn of events and has our nation in mourning. With this sadness comes a great deal of anger too.  We are a “Nation Torn”. As usual there are those among us who don’t really give a damn about what happened, as they don’t believe it affects them directly - so why even bother formulating a thought or opinion about it. Some people, especially the families of the striking workers, blame the Police, because of them using extraordinary measures including the use of live ammunition. Finally of course the other side of the fence, the one’s blaming the protestors, who like me are asking the question: “Why the hell are we going to protests with guns, machete’s, spears and panga’s???” 

Parliament is up and arms over this event and they want answers, they want accountability – is it fair though to blame the ANC and Jacob Zuma for giving the maximum force order – I don’t necessarily know about that one.

Let’s review the events that led up to this tragedy:

There was a wage dispute between the striking mine workers and the Lonmin Mining Board – this obviously led to the mass strike action as Trade Unions failed to make ground not only with Lonmin but also amongst themselves. Looking at the demands, I find them slightly unrealistic – most of the workers want a R12 500 salary – this not financially feasible. But instead of calmly and logically mediating this situation, the trade unions involved urged their members to strike.

So what exactly prompted these workers to show up to this mass action with deadly weapons?  Were they instructed to do so, and if so by whom???? – NONE OF THE TRADE UNIONS INVOLVED are claiming any kind of responsibility.

There were over 28 000 striking workers! This is clearly a vast amount of people.

Sufficed to say the mass action was anything but peaceful, and soon reinforcements were called in.

In fairness most of the Squad on the day were not prepared for the events that transpired. A lot of them, young and inexperienced, the training available to our Police force year’s ago sadly no longer in operation.– further more they were being attacked with deadly weapons. Putting yourself in any one of those Officer’s shoes what would you have done? Yes of course I want to know where the Army Tanks were with the teargas and the water hoses, why the next logical move for them was live ammo???? Who doesn't.

Recently footage has been leaked that does in fact show that the striking workers fired first! There were men and woman young and old in that squad. Lives were lost – but the bottom line to me is this, they took it upon themselves to serve and protect not only themselves and their families but also the innocent members of society around them. What would our reaction have been if these armed striking workers began to shoot and kill innocent non-striking employees or passers by in the area.

Shouldn’t we accept the blame as society and realize that the far greater issue at hand is not whether our Police Force used excessive force/measures. It is the question of why we deem it necessary to intimidate, threaten and scare people into submission to get what we want???? How do we justify the fact that those striking workers showed up with deadly weapons….. How can we brag about  “social cohesion” when we can’t even agree on the fundamental problem with this picture?

The sad truth is that everyone involved had a hand in what led to this tragedy,  firstly Capital Greed, I am sure that there are ways of making the Salaries of these mine workers, work for them better, South-Africa is a country sadly plagued by unemployment and poverty. The manual labourers of our nation tend to be on the bread line and therefore lots of them fall into this group. (But this is not why mineworkers are underpaid –  I can’t fully go into the problem here as that’s a blog for another day : In short South-Africa should not be setting our precious metals and mineral prices based on financial indicators of first world countries, the truth is we can charge what we want for our precious metal and minerals as we still export most of it and there is still a huge demand internationally) 

The second guilty party is the Trade Unions – they are the representatives for the people and should be able to convey concerns in a civilized manner. Furthermore they should be involved in educating and motivating their members to be informed of their rights and yes this includes the right to strike. But it needs to be implemented in a safe organised manner. Mediation, talking through issues, having debates, signing petitions, being willing to look at feasible options. Compromise is key to resolving disputes especially where money is concerned.
Thirdly and probably most importantly, the striking workers are at fault, for coming armed with deadly weapons. Then of course the SAPS has a hand in it too, why were those extraordinary measures required? Where was the teargas and huge water hoses? After all of the above mentioned we can finally come down on the government, but in essence they were least directly involved.

The aftermath of the event has fuelled the fire of the ignorant, vengance is what they seek and it is madness:

JULIUS MALEMA has joined the residents and families of the victims in laying murder charges against the SAPS!!!!!!!

– This in itself scares the crap out of me, why are we giving this ignorant man a platform to speak to, and on behalf of the public, yet again! Get him the hell away from this issue before we hear the spewing of racism and him stirring up nonsense within parliament again. Please it’s been outplayed and we as a nation are over it!

Julius has actually called upon other mines in the North West to join in the pay revolt – WTF!!!!!!! And no people I am not being biased against Malema there are several articles relating to this currently available on News 24, Eye Witness News, BD Live, SABC’s news platforms. This is pure insanity.

“ROCK drill operators and other workers of at least two other North West platinum mining operations have made similar wage demands to those of strikers at Lonmin’s Marikana mine — raising fears that the instability could spread.

At Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats) Thembelani mine near Rustenburg, workers have given management until Friday to respond to their demands. At Royal Bafokeng’s BRPM mine, drillers are demanding R12,500 a month — the same as Lonmin’s strikers.”

Insert taken from BDLIVE article: Mine pay revolt spreads in aftermath of Marikana

by Carol Paton and Allan Seccombe, August 22 2012, 06:11

I can only begin to imagine what this looks like to foreign investors and the general public in countries abroad. We look like a bunch of savages with no comprehension or respect for human life – and it goes both ways. Can we all just take a step back and realise that the end does not justify the means.

What are those workers teaching their children, that if we don’t get what we want  we can just stop working and go on a rampage. I can only imagine what the little girl/boy whose father left home that morning with a deadly weapon imprinted on their child – HORRIBLE to think that it’s ok to show our children that to intimidate or use violence to achieve our goals is the way to go!

If this was not those striking worker’s intention, then why come armed at all – if it was simply going to be a peaceful protest, there would’ve been no need for Police intervention.

Sadly a lot of the families who have lost a family member to this tragedy, can not  or will not comprehend that their loved one had any part in their own demise. They will then in turn listen to people like Julius Malema, who will try to blame whomever they can,  to make the issue something that it never was, this is called misdirection and sadly Malema is great at misdirecting the masses, he will use their grief and anger to fuel the fire in them and use it to for his personal advantage. The man loves nothing more than to cause chaos, because when everyone is doing damage control – no one is getting him quiet.

For crying in a bucket people, everyone wants answers and everyone deserves to know exactly where the paw-paw hit the fan, but in the meantime can we not add to the insanity.  I will be following events to come closely and keep you all updated.

Another hit HBO - Enter Boardwalk Empire

I consider myself to be quite the tv-series aficionado. I like to watch a bit of everything…. I decide rather swiftly whether a new show is worth my time or just another wash. Generally there is always an abundance of excellent Sitcom’s to choose from, Reality TV, Doccie’s, Wildlife, Human Interest, Sports, Leisure, Travel, Culinary and Music channels are evolving constantly to ensure that there is something for everyone, these channels tend to target a wider audience. Finding a decent Drama Series that caters to both men and woman between the ages of let’s say 18 and 50 though, can be a rare find. 

There are a zillion drama’s out there all aimed at very specific audiences and yes I know ladies a significant amount of these specifically targeted at us. Some are suited for the entire family but then you get all the good old corny-ness that comes with the territory, loads of them are aimed at the teenie boppers and normally gain an slightly older audience if the lead characters are played by adults  – So when you do find a series that intrigues the entire adult household it’s a mini celebration.

Being involved in production myself I generally assess a new series by focusing on a few areas in the pilot episode: The Production value (set design, wardrobe, make-up, special effects, editing styles, music) The Characters - their individual complexity, are they intriguing, believable, relatable. Obviously on-screen chemistry amongst the cast is essential to success. Whether I watch a new show is not necessarily down to whether the cast is made up of well known celebs or not. (I generally give unknown actors/actresses at least one episode to prove whether they can act). Lastly, quite possibly the most important aspect to me is tum tum tum drumroll: The plot ! –  I want the perfect blend of creativity, humour, realism, suspense, intrigue and a dash of unpredictability! I know my request seems like a tall order but I assure you it is possible. I am so tired of predictable story lines. (this naturally applies to all soapies!) I find myself two steps ahead of a show more often than not, what a buzzkill!  

Don’t get me started on this more recent tendency of Popular shows, having aired several successful seasons, gaining perhaps a global audience, just to have the network execs so driven by greed and money, that the once loved show rolls out a new season regardless of whether it’s on par with prior seasons.(Prison Break, Dirty Sexy Money,Heroes) Subsequently the show returns to our screens, somewhat lacking, it loses a huge part of it’s audience, any chance of future syndication and simply withers away. The writers who once captivated us, have now seemingly ran out of good ideas, they go so completely off the reservation, that all original conclusions are forgone, replaced by ludicrous end scenario’s.

The viewer is left with a complete anticlimax  - hmmm like I dunno LOST is an excellent example, brilliant concepts initially, a fantastic cast, amazing production value.  A plane crash coincidentally somewhere inside the Bermuda Triangle…. parallel universes, a mystical island, the idea of time travel, wormholes, random scientific experimentation, all plausible in this ever evolving world, a limitless scope of script opportunities (I have no idea what went wrong in the writers mind’s, maybe the success of the show was too much for them to handle. There could’ve been infighting over intellectual property, some of the writing staff may have left, or they wanted to be done with the project and needed to ensure that it never got revived, hell at one stage even cast members were wondering where the story was heading! After 4 Years of loyal viewing, practically a year of patiently waiting for answers the final season would bring. A global audience almost over zealous in anticipation and then BLEH -They are all dead!!! The ending so bloody ridiculous! It sucked ass – Contradicting so many of the initial storylines, the ones  that had captivated us in the first place -. EPIC FAIL ABC!

There is still hope though, some shows have got the winning recipe and should be able to achieve longevity. There are still writers with vision, who dare to push boundaries.  Not forgetting of course my generation(the now twenty something person starting out in their careers) The future will be determined by the youth of today. There’s always a fresh, unique new idea, a young aspiring new talent (artist/writer/producer/director/designer) or even an old one – just waiting to be discovered - waiting for the chance to entertain us. Fortunately we have amazing shows from the past (still available to us) a couple still running, in recent years a few new excellent ones that began. These shows bridge the target audience gap – appealing to a much wider audience male, female from a young adult to senior citizen.

I recently got introduced to a fabulous little gem, that I believe falls under this category. A drama brought to us by HBO:  Boardwalk Empire! – In my opinion a smash hit. (Available online if like me you don’t have DSTV/M-NET) This is definitely one to watch!

Terence Winter for those of you not familiar with him he was part of the brilliant team that brought us Mob Drama : The Soprano’s   Winter being a Brooklyn boy himself, read a book ironically called “Boardwalk Empire” by Nelson Johnson. Johnson was an unpublished author, an actual Court Judge, however earlier in his career he was a lawyer.He got a chance to get up close and personal with some of the old school gangsters of New Jersey, New York and surrounds. The one's who came from the 20's-50's  he wrote  the book based on the real life “Rise and Fall” of notorious New Jersey Politician and Racketeer  - Enoch “Nucky”  Johnson. (no relation to author) The man was an old school Gangster – he ran Atlantic City for 30 + years and had a hand in every pie in town.

Essentially he was part of the Original Gangsters, along with the likes of Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano, Johnny Torrio(who mentored Al Capone – the world’s most well-known gangster) and several others, they paved way for bootlegging of alcohol and firearms, election rigging, fraud, smuggling, money laundering  i.e - organised crime during the Prohibition era.
The man’s legacy is so vast that it’s a mystery that he isn’t more well known.

There must’ve been no doubt that a show would be successful. I mean come on, I know all too well that the masses are generally fascinated by history -we love both the good and bad game changers of the past. As for the mob and organised crime it has become a huge part of our pop-culture today – I would say about a 60/40 split: Those who romanticize the idea of the Gangster and those who love to hate them. Winter took on the role of Creator and Head Writer for the project, he got Nelson Johnson to sign on as part of the team, they created a  small screen adaptation(utilizing both real-life history and  adding their own set of fictitious tales) then they pitched it, and got the legendary Director Martin Scorsese to sign on as Executive Producer. The show features an excellent ensemble cast, the production value is insane,(wardrobe, stage, lighting, musical score, make-up -truly authentic) the story line absolutely riveting.

Not to giving too much away I’ll set the scene: It’s 1920 Atlantic City the eve of PROHIBITION we are introduced to Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Ed Buscemi) as he attends a meeting held by the Woman’s Temperance League. He has the room captivated as he tells the story of how alcohol nearly destroyed his life and that of his family. He was really piling it on thick – one woman(Margaret Shroeder -Kelly MacDonald) in particular seems to be spellbound, focused on his every move. A quick word is whispered to him by his younger blonde haired associate, James “Jimmy” Darmody (Micheal Pitt) a recently returned WWI vet, that has been appointed as "Man Friday" to the new Chief Clerk of the Fourth Ward and Nucky’s driver (There is clearly history between them). Thompson quickly he excuses himself telling the ladies that he had been called away to attend to “urgent” town affairs.

Flash forward to Babette’s Supper Club -  Nucky walks in with an air of authority, he asks to see his brother, Elias ‘Eli’ Thompson (Shea Whigham) who happens to be the town sheriff , he is directed to a  private room. Upon entering we are met by group men, all prominent members of the City, Council men, Ward Bosses the Mayor. As the men continue in their celebrations Nucky takes lead and reveals to them that Prohibition laws will not only make the need for consumption of alcohol greater but it ensures that they can charge what they want, making boatloads of cash both through importing liquor and the manufacturing and distribution of bootleg liquor.

The feds are watching Thompson - we come to know Special Agent Nelson Van Alden(Micheal Shannon) as a straight laced do-gooder his fellow agent Sebso(Erik Weiner) seems much more duplicitous.

Thompson meets with then Chicago Boss Big Jim Colosimo(Frank Crudele), Johnny Torrio(Greg Antonacci), Arnold Rothstein(Micheal Stuhlbarg) and Lucky Luciano(Vincent Piazza).  Colosimo, invites Nucky to dinner at his restaurant in Chicago. Torrio, Nucky, Rothstein and Luciano get to talking about how they planned to take over New York with cabarets. Lucky asks for all the liquor Nucky could get as much as 2,000 crates a month -- for starters. Rothstein asks for a special delivery for a Judge friend's wedding and Nucky offers him 500 crates of Canadian Whiskey currently on route.

We are introduced to a young Al Capone(Stephen Graham) in the first episode,  he still works as a barman  and acts as driver for Johnny Torrio he ends up making an alliance with Jimmy Darmody (ficticious character) they want to do a job together,  hijack the shipment of Liquor destined to go to Arnold Rothstein’s friend. This sets in motion a series of dire consequence.

I won’t be giving you any more spoilers this was just an amuse-bouche to entice you. The show is currently airing it’s first season on M-Net, I opted to download the entire 1^st  and 2^nd season(Riveting stuff!) From meeting Chalky White an introduction to the KKK, a war vet returned mercenary with half a face, double crosses, Jimmy's mom hooking up with Lucky Luciano...even some lesbian action - heroine trade, federal court cases, the first female attorney general, Van Alden becomes a daddy the storyline is fab and believe you me the show ends on a climatic note.

The 3^rd season returns to the screen in the US in the fall and will  be available on download bi-weekly. Do yourself a favour and give it a try.

Villians among us....

Recently I found myself watching an episode of Dr. Phil, normally I would just change the channel as I personally find the good doctor to be a complete douchebag. But on this occassion the interview he was having, simply drew me in. He was asking a middle aged man, whether he regretted the jury's decision - in this case "Not Guilty" with regards to his daughter's trial. Astonishingly the man broke into tears...Yes he said..... WHAT! I thought not really knowing who this guy was or what the case was that he was referring to. I had to watch and find out more - I mean come on what parent would rather see their child in jail than out???? Only a parent who's child has become a danger to either themselves or society - I needed to know...what could be so horrible as to drive a grown-ass man to tears.
What I found was something that shocked me, appalled me, offended me.... and hell even prompted me to blog about it.

I study Psychology so I realize that the human mind is fragile, some people are broken in ways that don't make sense to the rest of society - disturbing and depraved criminal behavior is an example of this. The truth is that a history of violence has brought mankind to where it is now. It's all there in the History books, I suppose we have become less savage as a whole - people in most countries are no longer sentenced to death and in the minority where they are still are, it has become more merciful. No more sentences of public decapitation, hangings, or people being stoned to death. Now we lethally inject - and that only happens years after sentencing has been passed down. Yes I know that hangings and people being stoned to death still occurs but this is mostly in developing countries and is generally frowned upon. Personally I am pro death penalty - unfortunately I have issues with the accuracy of convictions but that's a blog for another day :-) 


Today I want to talk about Caylee Marie Anthony's story - It's been a year since the verdict "NOT GUILTY"

Dr Phill continued and I learned that he was interviewing George Anthony and Cindy Anthony, parents of Casey Anthony. She had been on trial for the homicide of  her daughter, their 2 year-old granddaughter Caylee Marie Anthony. The charges brought against Casey Anthony were: "First Degree Murder, Aggravated Child abuse, Aggravated Manslaughter of a child and 4 counts of providing false evidence to the police." The Trial concluded on 5 July 2011 - The jury came back with a Not Guilty verdict on all 3 first counts i.e First Degree Murder, Aggravated Child abuse, Aggravated Manslaughter of a child. - She was however found guilty on 4 misdemeanour charges of providing false evidence to police.




The episode featured, candid individual interviews with both George and Cindy and finished off with a joint interview. One thing was clear as day: The 2 parents had complete opposing views on the outcome of the trial, George was clearly distraught and felt that the verdict had been wrong. Cindy appeared to be a flake, she was not forthcoming in her interview with Phil and was delighted at the fact that the jury came back with the "Not Guilty" on the 3 major counts.

The interview highlighted the fact that Casey's "Defence Team" lead by Jose Baez, a Florida criminal defense attorney, had given the jury misinformation to create reasonable doubt! They had made statements that George Anthony had molested Casey as a child, they also fabricated a scenario where George(former Detective) had actually been there on the day of the death Caylee ( according to them an accidental drowning) and that he had helped to cover it up. When Phil asked Cindy directly whether she believed any of this she stated with certainty that it was a lie! There were also reports during the trial that Cindy Anthony(Mother of accused) had perjured herself regarding a computer search done from their home computer for chloroform. The search was done on the home computer, while Cindy who claims to be the one who did it was at her office..... Phil directly asked her if she perjured herself...her answer no. A blatant lie - it was on a technicality that the Attorney General could not pursue these Perjury charges. There were several fabricated stories from Casey Anthony on what exactly had happened to her daughter.

This was simply not going to do for me, I had to know more.  I started searching online for old news reports anything that would give me more facts. This is what I found:


In 2008 Casey Anthony (then 22) and her daughter Caylee(2 and a half) lived with her parents George and Cindy Anthony in their Florida home. On June 16th 2008 Casey Anthony left the family home with her daughter Caylee, she allegedly went to Tampa on a "work assignment". For weeks neither grandparent had seen Caylee, they had asked Casey about their granddaughter repeatedly and was either told that Casey was to busy with the work assignment to come over or that Caylee was with the Nanny who Casey identified by the name of Zenaida "Zanny" Fernandez-Gonzalez, or at theme parks or the beach. 
On July 13, 2008, while doing yard work, Cindy and George Anthony found a notice from the post office for a certified letter affixed on their front door. George Anthony picked up the certified letter from the post office on July 15, 2008, and found that his daughter's car was in a tow yard.When George picked up the car, both he and the tow yard attendant noted a strong smell coming from the trunk. Both later stated that they believed the odor to be that of a decomposing body.When the trunk was opened, it contained a bag of trash, but no human remains Cindy Anthony reported Caylee missing to the Orange County Sheriff's Office on the 15th of July 2008. A 911 call was made during which Casey also admitted that she had not seen her daughter in 31 days, she proceeded to fabricate stories about Caylee's whereabouts including that she had been kidnapped by "Zanny". It was eventually determined that a woman named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez did in fact exist, but that she had never met Casey Anthony, Caylee Anthony, any member of the Anthony family, or any of Casey's friends.With the child still missing in October, Casey was charged with first degree murder and pled not guilty. 

On  December 11, Caylee's skeletal remains were found with a blanket inside a trash bag in a wooded area near the family home.Investigative reports and trial testimony alternated between duct tape being found near the front of the skull and on the mouth of the skull.The medical examiner mentioned duct tape as one reason she ruled the death a homicide, but officially listed it as "death by undetermined means". 

The trial began on May 24, 2011,In the opening statements, lead prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick described the story of the disappearance of Caylee Anthony day-by-day.The prosecution alleged an intentional murder and sought the death penalty against Casey Anthony. They stated that Casey used chloroform to render her daughter unconscious before putting duct tape over her nose and mouth to suffocate her, and left Caylee's body in the trunk of her car for a few days before disposing of it. They painted Anthony as a party girl who killed her daughter to free herself from parental responsibility and enjoy her personal life - this could be seen as the prosecutor's had access to CCTV footage of Casey and her boyfriend shopping merrily on June 16th 2008, during July of 2008 with Caylee "allegedly being kidnapped by Zanny" Casey was entering Hot Body contests at Fusion nightclub and also went to have a new tattoo done: the words "Bella Vita" which means "Beautiful life" - Now I'm thinking what kind of sick bitch can go out partying and get tattoos whilst their child has been kidnapped(Casey's first story to police)or even for that matter recently lost a child to drowning?????

The defense, claimed in opening statements that Caylee drowned accidentally in the family's pool on June 16, 2008, and was found by George Anthony, who told Casey she would spend the rest of her life in jail for child neglect and then proceeded to cover up Caylee’s death.( Firstly a detective would know that DA's rarely prosecute parents in the event of an accidental drowning) Jose Baez argued this is why Casey Anthony went on with her life and failed to report the incident for 31 days.(Ja she was so happy and content she went partying). He alleged that it was the habit of a lifetime for Casey to hide her pain and pretend nothing was wrong because she had been sexually abused by George Anthony since she was eight years old and her brother Lee also had made advances toward her.(Utterly ridiculous as Casey often left Caylee unattended in George's care - No woman who has been a victim of sexual abuse, will EVER allow their child(daughter) to be close to that person.

Baez admitted that Casey had lied about there being a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzales and questioned whether Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found the bones, actually had removed them from another location.  He alleged the police department botched the investigation because of their desire to feed a media frenzy about a child’s murder rather than a more mundane drowning.

Cindy Anthony testified that her comment to 911 that Casey’s car smelled "like someone died" was just a "figure of speech". K9 handler Jason Forgey testified that Gerus, a German shepherd cadaver dog, certified 2005, indicated a high alert of human decomposition in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car, saying the police dog has had real-world searches numbering "over three thousand by now". During cross-examination, Baez argued that the dog’s search records were "hearsay". Sgt. Kristin Brewer also testified that her K9 partner, Bones, signaled decomposition in the backyard during a search in July 2008. However, neither K9 partner was able to detect decomposition during a second visit to the Anthony home. Brewer explained that this was because whatever had been in the yard was either moved or the odor dissipated.

The prosecution called the chief medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia to the stand, who testified that she determined Caylee's manner of death to be homicide but listed it as "death by undetermined means". Garavaglia took into account the physical evidence present on the remains she examined, as well as all the available information on the way they were found and what she had been told by the authorities, before arriving at her determination. "We know by our observations that it's a red flag when a child has not been reported to authorities with injury, there's foul play," Garavaglia said. " ... There is no child that should have duct tape on [the lower part of] its face when it dies." Additionally, Garavaglia addressed the chloroform evidence found by investigators inside the trunk of Casey Anthony's car, testifying that even a small amount of chloroform would be sufficient to cause the death of a child.

University of Florida professor and human identification laboratory director Michael Warren was brought on by the prosecution to present a computer animation of the way duct tape could have been used in the death of the child, which the defense objected to hearing. Judge Perry, after a short recess to review, ruled that the video could be shown to the jury. The animation featured a picture of Caylee Anthony taken alongside Casey Anthony, superimposed with an image of Caylee's decomposed skull, and another with a strip of duct tape that was recovered with her remains. The images were slowly brought together showing that the duct tape could have covered her nose and mouth. Baez stated, "This disgusting superimposition is nothing more than a fantasy ...They're throwing things against the wall and seeing if it sticks." Jurors were seen taking notes of the imagery, and Warren testified that it was his opinion that the duct tape found with Caylee's skull was placed there before her body began decomposing.

The defense called two government witnesses who countered prosecution witness testimony about the duct tape. The chief investigator for the medical examiner stated that the original placement of the duct tape was unclear and it could have shifted positions as he collected the remains - Wowie it shifted, why the fuck was there duct tape on her mouth if she "drowned"

Cindy Anthony testified that their family buried their pets in blankets and plastic bags, using duct tape to seal the opening.(Yes Mother's should love their children unconditionally but HOLY HELL where do you draw the line)

Baez called Cindy Anthony to the stand, who told jurors she had been the one who performed the "chloroform" search on the family computer in March 2008. The prosecution alleged that only Casey Anthony could have conducted this search and the others because she was the only one home at the time. When asked by prosecutors how she could have made the Internet searches when employment records show she was at work, Cindy Anthony said despite what her work time sheet indicates, she was at home during these time periods because she left from work early during the days in question.

(WHAT THE FUCK - surely people she worked with could've been called to verify that either she wasn't there as she claimed, or that she was there and is perjuring herself to get her daughter off!!!)

The defense then called Roy Kronk, who recounted the same basic story he told police about his discovery of Caylee Anthony's remains in December 2008. He acknowledged receiving $5,000 after the remains were identified, but denied that he told his son that finding the body would make him rich and famous.The next day, his son testified he had made such statements

On June 30, the defense called Krytal Holloway, a volunteer in the search for Caylee, who said, she had an affair with George Anthony, had told her that Caylee's death was "an accident that snowballed out of control." Under cross-examination by prosecutors, they pointed to her sworn police statement in which she says George Anthony believes it was an accident, rather than knowing that it was. In her initial report, Holloway reported George Anthony saying, "I really believe that it was an accident that just went wrong and (Casey Anthony) tried to cover it up." She said he had not told her he was present when the alleged accident occurred.During redirect examination, Baez asked Holloway if Anthony told her Caylee was dead while stating publicly she was missing, and she said yes.

After Holloway's testimony, Judge Perry told jurors that it could be used to impeach George Anthony's credibility, but that it was not proof of how Caylee died and/or evidence of Casey Anthony's guilt or innocence.

On July 5th, 2011 the Jury found Casey Anthony : NOT GUILTY on First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child, or Aggravated Child Abuse. She was found guilty on four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. There are a lot of things "Lacking" in South-Africa but this WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IN A SOUTH-AFRICAN COURT!!! Here we look at physical evidence, motive you know the basics.

It absolutely boggles my mind :The prosecution provided solid evidence backed by science, the defense provided at the very least hear say - they DID NOT offer any explanation as to how the drowning occured, nor a valid reason as to why Casey showed no signs of loss (footage of her partying mere days after supposed drowning). They created a malicious lie to create distraction.



This case was a huge media whore because of the controversy it created in the public, mainly because anyone with half a brain could see that the jury got this one wrong. Several rappers used this case as lyrics,

"The shit I’m doin’ this year? Insanity/ Made the beat then murdered it: Casey Anthony," said comedian Donald Glover, under his hip-hop moniker Childish Gambino.
Eminem has a profanity-laced smackdown about Anthony in a few lines of "Shady 2.0 Cypher."


"Is puke luke warm? Should Casey Anthony do porn?/ Can that chick fit a newborn dead baby inside a freakin' shoebox/ With a shoehorn, smothered in chloroform so she can go get her groove on?"

 The public was more than outraged. So much so that the juror's names were kept quiet for a while after the verdict for fear of public vigilantism against them.

Casey Anthony is currently fighting various charges, let's hope the bitch goes down for at least one of them!

Cliffhanger of note! Weeds Season 7

Little boxes, on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky, little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same....

Since 2005 Weeds has been gracing our screens with it's presence, providing some much needed humour and a not so run of the mill storyline. Season 1 Introduces us to a recently widowed Nancy Botwin(Mary-Louise Parker).Her husband Jonah died of a heart attack leaving her stuck as a single mother with 2 boys, Silas(Hunter Parrish) and Shane(Alexander Gould) her brother-in-law Andy(Justin Kirk) soon joins the party and this family takes us right along with them on their journey from ordinary suburbians to full on Drug dealers. This series is one to watch, each season has been filled with unique plot lines witty humour, and a great depiction of people's random traits and their inadequacies. For those of you you have not watched, be sure to get it and watch from Season 1 to Season 7 before you jump on the band wagon, this is one show where it is vital to know the past to be able to appreciate the dynamics of future episodes.

Season 7 has been a tumultuous one, it started off rocky and slowly -to be frank a little boring. Eventually it lived up to prior seasons, finally progressing towards a killer cliffhanger! Prison Release, Halfway House, Corporate Espionage, The SCC, Territory Wars, Heylia James(Tonye Patano) is back and so is the MILF weed, Family feuds.... finally compromise which all leads up to  the cliffhanger of note....WHO IS THE SHOOTER and more importantly what kind of injury does Nancy sustain...snipers rarely miss don't they???? Bravo Jenji Kohan

I can't wait for the premiere of Season 8 on 12 July 2012. So many storyline possibilities! I am really looking forward to seeing how gloriously the Botwin clan will entertain us next.

Zuma Painting - My 2c

The illustrious painting: Can I just say for the record Brett Murray actually did a great job on this one, the painting may not be to my artistic liking i.e I would not hang it on my wall but I think it's a fair depiction of the phrase "caught with your dick out your pants"

I have had lenghty discussions with people across a wide spectrum of age, race and culture the last couple of days, and have come to the following conclusion: PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT! Yes I hear you all muttering what the fuck Michelle we all know this. Yes we do, but are we accepting these differences like mature people - HELL NO! Somehow people's tolerance valve is broken!

Over the last days this painting has claimed airtime on every news station in South-Africa, it has been a point of discussion on every social networking site and has even drummed up international buzz -  so for those of you don't know what has happened - Painting(part of collection) was hung in Goodman Gallery for all to see, President and ANC feel offended and demand it be taken down, obviously being the 21st Century the Goodman gallery stood it's ground and used the legal footing to have it remain hanging pending the outcome of a trial - in front of 3 Judges no less in one of the Highest Courts in our country - Unfortunately there were some elements in our society who felt it their right to vandalize the artwork! Clearly they do not understand the concept of "Freedom of expression" thankfully the internet allows things to live on eternally - in your face!

There are strong opinions made by many on this subject: Taken from Business Day Article by Sam Mkokeli

The DA sees Mr Zuma’s legal action as an attempt at censorship. Dene Smuts, the party’s justice spokesman, says a defamation suit— rather than an interdict — would have been the right course of action. She also sees double standards in the ANC’s outrage.



She describes the painting as a brilliant work of political satire. "South Africa has been descending for some time into a censorious mind-set that is taking us further and further away from the free speech which is fundamental to our democracy," she says. Mr Zuma and the ANC took no action when a "depiction by Ayanda Mabula — also portraying the exposed private parts of both President Zuma and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu — was exhibited in Cape Town," she says.

The debate about the painting and its defacement on Tuesday demonstrated yet again how strong, and at the same time how fragile, South Africa’s democracy is. Only last week a protest turned violent, when the Democratic Alliance (DA) marched on the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ offices. Are these signs of growing political intolerance? Or the spin-offs of unhealed wounds, as the Rainbow Nation grapples with life after apartheid?



The African National Congress (ANC) has taken offence over what it calls a racist provocation by Mr Murray. The painting is part of an exhibition, Hail to the Thief II, that aggressively drills home the point of a hijacked struggle, with crass materialism motivating the elite governing South Africa.



One piece, President and Sons Pty (Ltd), tells a well-known story. For Mr Zuma’s son, Duduzane, was part of a failed empowerment scheme that would have made him an instant multimillionaire. Complaints about Mr Zuma’s children and relatives getting empowerment deals under his presidency originate from the ANC itself. -------




I personally have no issues with the artwork, the message I take from it is that our president chooses to live his life - especially private sexual life - in the spotlight, let's not forget that his cultural beliefs are to be a polygamist so fair enough - but he had various sexual scandals - the shower incident prior to his inauguration, several instances since then. Apart from that there were charges pertaining to corruption that just magically got dropped, there are lots of things that would allow Mr Zuma to fall under the expression:" Got caught with your dick out your pants"

I don't know what exactly Brett Murray wanted to relay to the masses through his piece but nevertheless I would assume that it relates to his own opinions and beliefs - shouldn't he be allowed to express his beliefs???

Yesterday the court case was delayed because the ANC's Lawyer broke down in court - Big freakin whoop their argument is that Mr Zuma's personal dignity has been tarnished - Firstly I feel that any individual that chooses a life in the spotlight - whether it's politics, music, theater, acting, porn,writing,producing etc - you have to be willing to take the good with the bad. Take the Hollywood A-list for example, they have to sit idly by and watch weekly as their worst private and public moments are captured and sold to the highest bidder - these images are often of an explicit nature and rarely flattering. We don't see all of them making an issue of their civil liberties being violated - yes they huff and puff and often express their dissatisfaction/disgust with whatever's going on but they accept it as part of the package.

This whole thing has been turned into something completely different from what it is: Artistic and personal expression is now yet again being turned into a Race issue - How can this be?

South-Africa has one of the world's most culturally diverse populations, Apartheid has been over for 18 years - so why does everything seem to linger back to this crappy part in history, and why is it that we find every major news story in this country being turned back to this? I personally don't get it - In most traditional african culture the man is still seen as the dominant force and command's the most respect - it is uncomprehensable for his manhood to be depicted in paint - yet the women in many of these cultures still walk around bare breasted???? Contradiction in standards hmmmmm I wonder.... Not that Western cultures don't have areas of hypocrisy in their tradition, double standards blah blah, isn't the point of evolution to move forward and grow?

Whether we like to admit it or not we live in a different world today - a world where the individual should be celebrated, a different opinion should be allowed to be expressed without prosecution, a compromise should be able to be reached. Do we not expect respect and tolerance of others? I do.
I sincerely hope that this whole debacle stops getting too much attention - as a South-African I feel there are far more pressing issues - Poverty, Service delivery, Education, correct implementation of BEE, Not using 2 Billion Rand to change street names but rather to build homes for the poor, Social and Cultural cohesion, Corruption, Crime, Rhino Poaching,the list goes on.

But again who am I to highlight other issues - I'm just a drop in the ocean that makes up society.

Back on my feet

So a month ago I was on top of the world, I started with a new exercise regime, had just ordered some awesome speakers to use once I started operations for my production company. Finally having enough time and stable income to cover the monthly bills....  and bam! I got knocked the fuck out! The last day of March my boss came to me and told me that unfortunately circumstances had made it necessary for them to retrench me as of 01 May! Not only was this a huge shock for me but it was an emotional blow – I am a student and work part time as an Au Pair, I also do freelance work, while gradually saving and buying gear to start my own thing – I have been with this family for a while  I get along fantastically with the whole fam  and I truly love those kiddies….

All of a sudden, I was up shit creek without a paddle, what is it they say: life is what happens while we are making other plans. I found myself in a position I didn’t want to be in nor was I prepared for it – My exams were coming up in May, sufficed to say I still had a mountain of prep to do which naturally I assumed I’d be able to get more done prior to them ,as I had already made arrangements to be off on the exam days,   furthermore I had just spent my entire savings on gear  so no nest-egg other than the credit card (which means debt and interest = 2 of my least favourite things).  It wasn’t that I thought I wouldn’t find another job in time, or that I had no other avenue’s to pursue – good old mom’s house was an option! OH MY GIDDY AUNT that would’ve been a disaster, don’t get it twisted I love my mom to bits. She’s an amazing woman, I admire and respect her and am thankful for all the help she has already provided me. Frankly, no one wants move back in with the folks in their mid-twenties, or to offload their financial burdens onto them. Naturally she would do whatever she could to help me, I think she would even lose more sleep worrying about my drama than I would, I just couldn’t do that to her, that just ain’t how I roll.

Why is it that we are all fantastic “preachers” who love to dish pearls of  wisdom out to any of the people in our lives, friends, family, co-workers, a neighbour… but when it comes to the implementation of said pearls,  it seems a lot harder than when we were the one’s encouraging the positive thinking???

Don't get me wrong I realize that life has its ups and downs and the whole "when life hands you lemons make lemonade spiel” But I say screw the lemonade and grab the tequila! No I'm not saying whenever life throws you curve ball you should go on a bender and hope for the best, rather a 21st century twist on age old advice.... instead of just settling and adjusting to a blow or speed bump in your life I find it best to face the challenge head-on and be prepared to change your own plan!

Granted this life lesson was not pleasant, it’s a slippery slope down to self realisation. I was literally flat on my back (emotionally speaking) saying positive things, smiling but not doing what I said I would, not actively organising interviews, not studying, not really doing anything- I was JUICELESS(useless), what a hypocrite I had become. 16 days, that is how long I stuck to my plan,  kinda pathetic I know. The first two weeks are always the hardest,  I should’ve stayed strong, I was still exercising, but not as much as I planned to, I wasn’t really sticking to my meal plan either… some days no breakfast, a boatload of coffee, then a quick binge on something sweet – momentary fulfilment – then guilt and resentment toward myself  In a week I had managed to get myself straight back to square 1 – Sometimes making a huge change feels like an AA 12-step program, I know it’s sounds so wrong to compare a drug or alcohol addiction to a need for comfort eating but it’s all the same, whether it’s breaking a bad habit, dealing with an addiction, or making a major life change, I think there are several phases we have to go through before that change can be realised.  You can make a change but it takes balls and you may fail several times, we get knocked down in life so we can learn to get up again. It is day 4 back on track with regards to my exercise and meal plan, 1.6Kg’s down, I got a job yesterday, have made a schedule to ensure I have enough time to prepare for my exams and  I feel pretty good.

Chilled Sunday....

Music has always been an integral part of my life and today I took a trip down memory lane listening to songs I haven't heard in years and it was soooooooo therapeutic... It's day 3 of my new plan and i'm still highly motivated and ready for the challenges that lay ahead.

We get inspired by so many different things it could be a scene from a movie or tv show, a song you hear on the radio(or that little voice in your head singing it to you) someone or something you see while going about your life. Today that thing for me was music - I close my eyes and hear the words and all of a sudden a memory comes through.... hell at one point during the chorus line of Broken - Lifehouse I was almost in tears. Not only because of my personal experiences related to the time that song was released but strangely enough it was used in a Grey's episode way back when, it was a damn sad episode.

The human mind is such a complex and fascinating thing. It's amazing what emotions can be brought about in an instant and how vivid our memories and imaginations can be. I think if you are able to flip the switch inside your mind that anyone is capable of anything - and if that's wrong then we are all in deep shit.

Tomorrow beckons and it's gonna be a tough one: Gym - Officially day one on the BFL program not looking forward to it at all but it has to be done. I've created an awesome playlist to listen to while i'm battling the bulge. - Be sure there will be details of my aches pains and all the suffering....and people who tell you it's all soooooo freaking easy are talking bs. Nothing that's worth anything ever comes easy.


On the business front the cards are designed and ready to go to print, the website is still in progress and the admin is coming together. The Label needs to be registered with the Recording Association and the band needs to sign their contracts!!!! Oh my giddy aunt! it's so exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. The band is finally full and they seem to be gelling very well together Z's almost fully recovered from her surgery so by beginning of May they will be ready to start gigging. We will be recording the first 2-4 singles in 2 weeks time and of course as Producer I am extremely amped and ready to this. The fruition of years of dreaming finally a reality ------WATCH THIS SPACE PEOPLE!





 

First slice

Blog created - Check
Logo created - semi check ( well at least i've started and have the basic concept down.
Speakers - Check Yeah baby they finally came! @ Beautiful 15inch full range powered cabinets and 2 supremely powerful 18inch subs - mama can't wait to use them
Cables, mic's,stands - uhm here's where the budget is letting me down at the mo but i'll get there soon enough.

So i'm finally doing it...starting the business i've always wanted. It's gonna be one hell of a ride and I can't wait. if i'm honest it's time to stop standing in my own way and just get on with it. It's always a bitter pill to accept that you are in control of your own destiny - but it's true.

So this is not a traditional 12-step plan to revamp my life but rather my own little "being Alice adventure" it's time to close my eyes and jump down the rabbit hole!

Let's embrace this tomorrow is the start of a new chapter ----- scratch that cos technically it starts today.