The World's view & our Fake Interpreter Dude

The government ANC has spoken.

In recent news regarding the whole fake-interpreter mess at Nelson Mandela’s memorial on the 10 December 2013, I read how the government had released a statement apologizing for the use of the ‘allegedly’ fake interpreter.

I had many different reactions to this, first of which was a laughing ‘relief’ because they finally found him.

If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t this fake-interpreter-dude missing for a while after the memorial was concluded?

During which time the ANC had continued to state through their various officials, that they did not know who this ‘Thamsanqa Jantjie’ was or even where he could be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHF20okcv58

Then of course the company he worked for seemed to ‘vanish into thin air’, making it impossible to track who it was that hired him as well as the company’s screening processes. How luckily unlucky….

Eventually Mr. Jantjie was found and a new spin to the story was added with him revealing that he had suffered an ‘attack’ and was someone who lived with Schizophrenia, a mental disorder that can only be managed through medication but ultimately has no known cure. The plot thickened as voices were heard and angels suddenly entered the picture, all to most likely solidify his claims of mental illness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dt-d5GvYso

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c33Omwka0A

So now we not only have this fraudster making a mockery of the hearing impaired, but also insulting the issue of those with mental illness. Because in effect that is what this is. Countless voices[the 'for-real' type] have spoken out and called him out as a complete fake with absolute no knowledge of sign language, and I somehow strongly doubt schizophrenia suddenly takes away your ability to sign. That assumption is made by someone who is not fully aware of what a true sufferer of mental illness goes through.

But I guess our government has fallen that far that it’s okay to do that now. It doesn’t matter that the Deaf community were insulted, they’ll get over it. It doesn’t matter that people with mental illness will now be judged more harshly because of this moron, they’ll forget about it or better yet just leave it be, it’s not like people listen to them anyway, right?

Suddenly Thamsanqa Jantjie was found and the ANC remembered they DID know him, but it was ‘the government’ that hired him, not the ANC party who just so happens to hold three quarters majority [excluding favors]. An official statement was released and an apology given, not that it would matter or change anything. Unless they plan to re-do the WHOLE Mandela Memorial… again.

http://news.yahoo.com/africa-apologizes-fake-signer-vows-reforms-093612938.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDe9CilqzGo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2-jQZ6VE3U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGmaIQEcM4A

[I really would like to see these ‘civilized’ deaf people she refers to, simply because I have yet to see an uncivilized deaf person…]

But the icing on the cake, or maybe the nail in the coffin of the ideals and beliefs that Mandela fought for, is probably the international media coverage of the whole debacle.

One thing our shady politicians and corrupt ladder of officials don’t understand is the magnitude of the effect that such incompetency has had on the world’s view of South Africa and inevitably the people who run it, as well as the unfortunate dye the rest of us are cast with simply because we are seen as ‘allowing’ them to run the country as is.

http://news.yahoo.com/sign-language-snl-video-153841985.html?vp=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StEFnh18zRk  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-DxGoIVUWo – [What Thamsanqa Jantjie ‘REALLY’ said (apparently)]

Look anywhere on the internet and you will be greeted with growing images, gifs, videos and other forms of social media art portraying ‘The Fake Sign Language Interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s Memorial’ accompanied by all sorts of mockery at his conduct, even others that just honestly don’t make sense to me.

Personally, I have found myself conflicted as I watched the videos and browsed the art. While it does have its moments of hilarious content, it still leaves me feeling slightly saddened.

Is this how the world now sees South Africans?

In a time when we had a chance to be remembered for producing one of the greatest and most influential leaders of a century, we are relegated to the status of a laughing stock, a bunch of clicking illiterates who couldn’t even provide the basic services of security and screening for those attending the memorable event. How heart-wrenching!

But on a sadistic high note, at least it served as a representation of how low the quality of service ‘the government’ is willing to let loose on those they serve. A perfect example of the long rusted holes in a stunted democracy that has been dying a slow agonizing death long before the once in a life time event of our greatest achievement now a titan to the ages lost in our history books.

If we’re lucky, maybe that changes something somewhere.

'Mandela's Document...' & The Militant Malema

It can be seen within the various factions of religious organizations and now we see it seep into politics.

Truthfully, I’m not overly surprised. Some individuals see politics as a form of religion, how else do you keep giving to an institute that feels entitled to it because, by some odd thought, they view themselves as gods.

Now before you preach to me on how ‘Anti-Christ’ or ‘atheist’ I am, save it. I’ve heard it all and all of it is wrong, I am surprisingly very religious. I just happen to separate GOD from any form of ‘INSTITUTE’, something that allows me to appreciate the diversity of every culture and their own beliefs.

In my appreciation of the world’s diversity, I have come to many intriguing discoveries; some saddening, some ironic and some downright ridiculous.

One of them is something I’m sure many others have already picked up on, and that is within any religion/faith/what-have-you, etc. where there exists a ‘document’, you’ll find that multiple sections that separate various beliefs, rain down from that one document.

It was as if the God in question had shed a tear on that document and the single droplet had multiplied as it rained down, drifting in different directions.

As man have few ‘rain-men’, obviously a translator had to come forward, whether he was hired by any of the God’s councils, we’ll never know but there he was, writing away the translation for the rest of us. Noting it down onto paper in languages we mere mortals could understand.

Now whether the rain-man was on his meds that day is a mystery left to the ages. But histories have already been written and I doubt any God could change those words in today’s society, even if they were to come in person.

In my opinion, I rate that little detail to be irrelevant.

Why, you might ask?

Think of that saying you’ve heard before, of how a preacher or even a random individual can read ONE
line in any part from that document and each individual listener will take something  different away from it. You would be surprised how contradictory their lessons proved to be.

I imagine this is how those drifted rain drops landed where they did and created the different factions the way they did.

In the past week, it has become quite scary how deeply people have praised Mandela, some going so far as to call him ‘their lord’ and professing him as something close to that of a God. A position I think he wouldn’t feel comfortable being put in, considering the man chose to serve ONE term as president.

Mandela expressed his enjoyment of being a man, a FREE man. Yes he was flawed, but that was just something that confirmed his humanity.

How uncomfortable he must have been to watch as people turned him from an icon to a God. And like we’ve seen with gods, his tears, suffering and words became Document.

Who has not quoted the man OR learned something from him? Hated him or loved him? Been inspired or riled by him?

Then on a rainy day a rain-man was summoned for translation, but as we’ve come to be told, this one was NOT on his meds that day…

Whether that affected Malema’s actions and proclamations, I can’t say. But it makes for an interesting coincidence, don’t you think?

Like those factions born from drifted rain, probably having each read one line of their own respected Documents and taking from it different things, Malema chose to take what has become Mandela’s Document and instead of taking from it the man’s legendary humility or even the icon’s humble disposition.

Malema chose the ruthless militant.

I dread to see where this new faction is heading and the destruction they cause on their way there. 

Random Acts of Kindness caught on film

Ode to Madiba -_-

As we watch 2013 draw its curtain, we see it close the chapter of not just another year to add to the timeline, but also separate us from loved ones, be it family or friends, through sudden tragedy and sickness leaving behind just one less light to brighten an ever darkening earth for us to admire.

Nothing can be truer than the most recent media news outcry of Madiba’s apparent passing at his home in Houghton on Thursday, 5 December 2013. It was an ending the country could not have ignored any longer after Madiba’s long struggles in and out of hospital, until the warrior finally decided it was time to go home and leave the rest to us.

Nelson Mandela was and is the very example of what a fighter is built of, and not just because he lived to see the age that he did. He was a man who not only fought for himself and HIS freedom, but the freedom of those around him and those that would come after him.

I have never had the privilege of meeting the man, but I have met others with his calibre, that fire of will that allows them to fight against all odds for what is right and equal, for what is not ‘beneficial’ or ‘advantageous’ but instead just and humane.

I have no delusions that he was a man without fault, but he became the man who changed the world by not only embracing those faults and facing them, but showing us that we are not just animals defined by singular actions that define our race, our culture and that by taking responsibility for our actions and accepting not only our own culture, but that of the people around us, we would be both better people and a better nation, a UNITED nation.

In an early article I wrote, I emphasised strongly that apartheid was not our [The youth’s] war to fight or rehash or complain about. I stand by that statement; HOWEVER, I do not mean we must not learn from it. Because that is OUR history and Madiba made it a part of our history we must not only learn from, but embrace and carry within us for as long as we exist as a species.

As young people we may not have anything to do with that struggle, aside from being the descendants of those torn by it, but we have more than we will ever know to be grateful for because of the sacrifices made by those lost in that struggle and Madiba’s imprisonment in his fight to end it.

The youth must never forget that it is because of them that we walk freely, not just on the streets, but besides the vast diversity of friends we stand next to. Friends whom we might never have been allowed the same breathing area back in the day, let alone hold hands and flirt with.

The youth must be thankful to our lost titan for his sacrifice and to those whom we will never know and how they fought for the right for you and I to marry someone not from our own race or culture, giving us a nation where most of us and to our future offspring are no longer born a crime.

The youth knows nothing of the true meaning of apartheid and they hopefully never will. It is not our struggle to fight and we have Madiba and long lost faceless soldiers to thank for that. They deserve our utmost respect and gratitude and I salute them for giving me the freedom I have today.

My heart goes out to the Mandela family and I hope they take time to appreciate the treasure they had and then lost, something too few families do in this day and age. I truly hope they don’t allow what is now the ‘ANC’ to take the legacy of this great man and drag it into the mud.

The reason for my harsh words are quite simple, we still aren’t stupid ANC.

Call me a conspiracy theorist or whatever you want, but this world doesn’t function on coincidence – or at least not like this. That the ANC have gone so low as to shift focus from the snowballing problem of Nkandla and all the other tumbling cards that are making their little charade look bad, isn’t even something I want to call disappointing, it’s flat-out sickening.

But the skies don’t cry for you today.

Rest in Peace god souls lost on roads and all those in homes may the angels ensure you are not alone.

My Ode to a Great Leader,

A Titan to the Ages

Now scripted for History’s pages

Rest well dear leader from troubled cages

-          Tracy-Lee van der Haar

ANC warns Public Protector... ♦.♦

I found an interesting article, written by Baldwin Ndaba, published on: 

http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/nkandla-anc-warns-thuli-1.1616351#.UqBH7dKmiBI

The article covers a warning that the ANC has apparently issued to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela concerning the leaking of certain aspects in the provisional document covering expenditure in Nkandla.

Frankly, it all boils down to a blame game of he said, she said and somehow now the EFF said something... in any case you get the idea.

What interests me most however, is the questions stated in the article that is supposedly posed to the public protector by the ANC, who seem very eager for the whole Nklandla thing to be over and done with.

I find that the ruling party are asking some pretty specific questions, the type you ask in a court of law where the words you use aren’t really the words you mean but the words you want the people to think you mean, while actually really being the wrong words to ask…

O_O

ANC’s questions to the Public Protector:

1.    Did President Jacob Zuma ask for any security upgrades at his homestead?

Did Mr President, at any point in time, refuse the installation of these upgrades as they were being installed?

Doing nothing is the same as conceding is it not? Unless of course, you are drugged and handcuffed to some dungeon or immovable object, forever alone

2.    Did the ANC president spend more than R200m in state money on his homestead?

I think this question is redundant by now. Shouldn’t we be looking more along the lines of, ‘How much more state money has he spent on his home?’

Just to be clear, differentiation between ‘state money’ and ‘his money’ is a bit senseless considering the president is paid by the money gathered from the state and thus anything he makes is and always can be classified as ‘state money’.

3.    Did President Zuma request that a swimming pool and a kraal be built and that his wife’s tuck shop be moved from its original position?

Did Mr President or said wife complain of such changes? No… well moving on.

4.    Did President Zuma request that bulletproof windows be put on particular windows and did he ask for the building of a waiting room at his homestead?

Truthfully I can see how this can be a security risk question and bring some people’s G-strings and Twinkies in a fuss, but on the other end of the jam stick: did he pay for it?

Anybody can ask for anything, nobody will complain […within reason…] but come time for checkout and the bill arrives, that’s when things REALLY matter.

As for that ‘waiting area’ mentioned… Comrade, for what..?

At home, we normal peoples like to call it a ‘lounge’ or ‘sitting room/area’. But maybe that’s a journalist’s typo, still….

5.    If not, who made those decisions and who is accountable?

I got nothing here accept to ask if JZ isn’t doing the signing of things, then who, in effect is doing his job. O__O

6.    The ANC wants to know which projects were built on state land and who decided on this.

Last year Zuma stated in parliament that ‘the government’ had come to his land and found his own construction people there and just added onto that. He went on to clarify that he didn’t know what they wanted to do or in fact were doing.

Am I wrong in assuming that ‘the government’ he spoke of is the ruling party which just so happens to be the ANC, of which he is president… @_@? Why would they want to know something they already know…?

7.    Was it the ANC president?

Wasn’t this indirectly already asked, like three times?

…Is it just me or do these questions seem repetitive and completely non-explanatory of the situation that the people would want the actual answers to…

8.    How much was spent on the security upgrade at Nkandla and how does this compare with the expenditure on the homes of other presidents?

More importantly, why does that kind of comparison matter?

There is no way you could pin the cost of half a million on a ‘fire pool’ because of ‘inflation’. Spending close to R 200 million on a president’s home is beyond ludicrous and in no way comparable to any past presidents.

Anyhow, that’s my take on those questions. Can’t wait to hear what the real answers will be, THOSE will most likely be much more fascinating to read.

To the holidays then and remember: Nkandla needs your funding, so be safe on those main roads, maybe even take a detour and visit the Nkandla road we paid a nice hefty R 290 Million for, see how the other half lives with no potholes, you know.

Web of Lies... ☼o☼

Back in 2012 we employed a domestic worker for a while and in her time of service, aside from cleaning us out, we learned something very interesting and I find it quite funny that our dear President seems to be teaching us this exact lesson about a year later.

To keep a short story shorter, there was this one week in particular… well it was her second week to be honest – where our dear worker had decided that one week was enough to show us that she could clean, though what she did clean to this day I would never be able to tell you, except if you were referring to my mother’s jewellery, the linen cupboards, our wardrobes and kitchen cupboards, those she cleaned out pretty nicely...

Anyway, in this second week of being employed she had decided that a go slow(er) was due and after having been in desperate need of someone to help around the house to clean and keep everything in order as everyone else was out working and trying to ensure there still existed a house to return to, as well as a new mouth to feed with her entry to the household, you can imagine frustration was starting to boil.

So as the week dragged on and realization began to grow at missing objects and other things, along with tenth layers of dust growing on things, tensions strained, but work schedules that lead to the situation still existed. Eventually, in the middle of the week tempers flared and the woman was given an ultimatum, step up or step out.

Come Friday, it had seemed like the woman had taken the warning seriously... and the next week, same thing. Of course things still seemed to go missing, but it was just brushed off as ‘misplaced’ or ‘old age imaginings’ on my parent’s part. But that all changed on the Monday of the fourth week.

You see, over the weekend my mother had moved some chair by accident and came across the biggest spider web any one of us had ever seen. This thing had literally become part of the furniture and wall. It was the type of thing you only saw in movies and there it was, just chilling like it was part of the decor.

I will never forget the day my mother confronted the woman about it the next time she saw her. The response was unbelievable.

‘It must have grown over the weekend…’

Seriously… that was her exact words.

Now I’m no expert in spider webs, but I’m pretty sure that thing took at least a few weeks of work, maybe even months. But like I said I’m no expert.

But those words… I can’t help but think if this is what JZ is thinking when he spins his own web of lies trying to cover up all those scandals hovering around Nkandla.

I mean how do you not know what’s happening around you?

Just like that woman was supposedly ‘cleaning’ our house, while completely unaware of this giant spider web being constructed, was JZ also just signing away laws to dig deeper into our salaries while completely unaware that right outside his window big-ass cranes were building stuff that he may or may not have asked for?

I’m sorry, but if someone started digging a giant hole and making it look all fancy and stuff, I’d start questioning why, way before someone else brought that up, especially when I wasn’t sure if I was footing the bill or not.

I really hope JZ has a better comeback than his previous statements made in 2012 of ‘I don’t know what the government came to do’ or ‘where these plans came from’. 

Last I checked Mr President, you were part and ruling parcel of the government and things don’t necessarily happen without you not knowing.

Nothing just happens ‘over the weekend’.

Why the Youth of South Africa don't Trust the Police

As children, most of us are told to trust the men and women in uniform with badges and as we grow up we soon learn to both fear and respect them, this authority that is both our protectors and our teachers placed within our society to make it a better place.

But as the years have gone by it seems this ‘authority’ has lost its true meaning over time. As a result we have the young of today looking at them with suspicious eyes and harsh judgement and to be honest, can we blame them?

Looking back at this year, 2013, we see a staggering amount of police cases involving their own people in charges that have them acting against their call of duty. According to an eNCA article, about 13 000 criminal cases are said to have cop involvement and I’m guessing those are just the ones reported.

Now I don’t know about you, but if I saw this on the news just before I was about to go out with friends after exams I sure as hell would feel the same as those PandaTeens*.

Any female driving alone at night would already [should already…O_O] be on their guard as they travel those dark pothole-riddle roads. They shouldn’t, however, have to worry about having to protect themselves from their protectors.

I’d rather get a high speed fine than stop in that situation, granted I wouldn't want to end up like the dearly departed Paul Walker [R.I.P] and his friend, Roger Rodas, but I’d honestly still choose that over the fate of having the ‘authority’ that I was raised to respect, fear and honour be sullied by some moron along with any sense of actual safety in the world being destroyed.

What about all the males driving home from a long day at the office, stopped over by the police at that good old festive road block […you know just helping out their traffic comrades in these busy times when pickings just so happen to be ripe…] to do the mandatory yet seemingly random checks, that just so happens to involve every sun-tanned, young, wealthy-looking or even all of the above individual for any misbehaviour.

Should these guys really be shoved to the ground like criminals? Simply because they refused to grease some dirty palms after they just spent a whole day working so that a percentage of their hard-earnings could be taken into the country’s wallet, that’s already meant to be paying for their services and dedication not some ‘fire pool’ that’s only ever going to extinguish bruised ego.

All this happening and we should question our youth’s distrust in the police? I'm still surprised they listen to any elders at all, at this rate, though it would seem they are learning quickly to abandon that trust too, but again, can we blame them?

Personally, I don’t think we’re giving them much to look up to. We’re allowing this crap to happen, so of course they’ll rebel and reject it, before conforming into it –only then just to survive.

The youth are constantly exposed to the unfortunate failings of our justice system and that can’t be changed without the justice system being, itself, changed for the better.  Older generations can argue out their hair follicles about how the children should just accept it as it is, but we so often forget who the labourers are that push things forward.

The youth don’t trust what they can’t see. The same goes for everyone else. The only difference is that anyone older has probably had the lucky chance of seeing the good the police has done in the past and knowing the good such an authority has on a society and a country.

The young people just need to be taught that and the police that aren't attacking women in the night or harassing men on the roads should start stepping into the light and showing the youth ‘WE EXIST!’

*Panda Research survey done on teenagers*

Smackucation

'Smackucation - the art of physical discipline in the hopes of development and growth, of both mental and moral fibre'

It’s all over the media and with one click into the interwebs it doesn’t take much to find the accompanying video footage. Everywhere we look we are graced with the visual proof that the children of today are becoming what society has so long been breeding, yet foolishly hoping would just silently disappear into the shadows of street corners, boring desk jobs, checkout lines at our local Checkers or Spar and maybe even that coveted position at McDonalds.

Hell, I’ve even read that the kids of today actually ASPIRE to be porn stars, because you know, the internet's the new Hollywood now....

Evolution, right…?

It doesn't come as a shocker that the response from the older generations have begun demanding that Corporal Punishment be brought back, and it’s not just the really old, born way back in the day folks either. Uproar from those hailing from the 1980’s and upwards is being added as they express their feels of disgust and rage to the masses as well.

I am no exception. On seeing one of the videos, which showed a student attacking a teacher with a broom HANDED to him by other students egging him on, I was mentally plotting the various punishments I would deal out to those snot nose brats if I ever had the privilege of crossing paths with them.

However, after the rage subsided I began to think: what had led to that?

Sure we can speculate till we’re all blue in the face, but the truth is, we [the public] will never truly know the details. Personally, I feel no matter what went down the students were fully at fault and I praise that teacher for not reacting or even fighting to protect himself, from a BROOM. But the sad part is will justice be given? And when it is ‘supposedly’ given will it be enough?

Then, of course, we have the call to bring back Corporal Punishment.

Frankly it’s a reasonable request if you look at the past few months increase of violence in schools and the resulting punishment that just makes you question whether or not we encourage students to test the system.

How on earth do you expect them to take any sort of authority seriously when you show them that when they attack their fellow classmates brutally and with harmful intent, barely being contained by any teacher brave enough to intervene, that they will be okay for a bit, while the teacher’s life and reputation gets torn to shreds as they are blamed for incompetence or not doing something sooner. But that’s okay, because we must protect the children…

Or when they attack teachers and there needs to be an investigation first before action is taken to prove that it wasn’t the teachers fault, because video footage can be so deceiving…

But let it be a teacher accused of doing something wrong, probably driven to it by

 some mental break or just because they were paedophiles to begin with, we see that action couldn’t be taken fast enough… if someone got through to a news establishment and maybe it was or wasn’t a setup or publicity stunt, who knows.

But that’s of course to show that the government cares for the children and that they protect them… eventually.

But still… we come back to the fact that children are out of hand, so is Corporal Punishment the way to go?

Before I give my answer, let’s look at a few scenarios.

I’d like to think we can all agree that not everybody has had the ‘perfect’ upbringing, by which I refer to the whole ‘white picket-fence’ thing that western TV has imprinted society to picture them all having, or at least trying to have.

Not everyone was lucky enough to have a parent, let alone parents, but it was what it was. Schooling was a privilege some took advantage of and some were given the advantage of taking. Upbringings were not all the same and a lot much more similar than many would ever admit to. And discipline was something that ALWAYS started at home. Don’t agree? Okay, consider this,

Child A was born and raised in a loving family that found discipline a useful tool to use from stopping an innocently ignorant child from touching the heater a second time or leaving their sight to play in the line of oncoming traffic or taking that swirly tasty stick and following Mr. Stranger. Would this child then complain of being punished for breaking serious school rules by an authority figure in their later schooling years, an authority figure that they subconsciously liken to their parents?

Then we have Child B, born into a loving family, but one who feels discipline by hand [or various other at-hand objects] is too extreme. So they resort to talking and resolving things. I imagine in the formative years this would probably not go as planned and the heater wouldn’t be used for some years. I’m also guessing parents would have to be VERY attentive as the child grows to ensure the proper lessons are taught and that the slick-tongued Mr. Stranger and his tasty stuffs are avoided. I can see this family not being pleased with any form of ‘physical’ discipline being dealt to their ‘innocent angels’. But their ‘angels’ got into said trouble now, didn’t they? So what went wrong?

Now we move to Child C, as you guessed, this child didn’t get the happy family and the best of upbringings. Maybe it was by choice, but chances are that’s not the whole truth. These are the children that most teachers of today give up on the minute they enter the classroom or maybe these are the children that hide their crappy lives so well, you can almost believe they aren’t so bad… almost. You see, Child C had one of two upbringings. On one side they were once loved, until something happened that changed home life and made it a place to be visited instead of lived and the on the other side, well let’s just say ‘love’ was the thing you would rather sell than hold onto, had more surety that way. But both upbringings have one thing in common and it doesn’t take much to figure out what.

Violence begets violence. Chances are high Child C knows what it’s like to be hit around, whether by someone they know or not. Taking that in, do you honestly think any sort of authority would be able to get away with laying a hand on them and NOT getting some form of ‘payback’? The parents may not care [unless there’s benefit to them] but the retaliation from the ‘victim’ that’s something to think about.

But let us not forget WHY Corporal Punishment was taken away in the first place, and no it wasn’t because of all that jabber of children’s rights and parent’s feelings and so on… [Okay, maybe a little of it was…] but it was mostly because too many teachers were abusing their power and racism was still rife within the hearts of those fresh from an era just exiting troubled times.

Did we need it gone then? I think we did, but that’s just my observation.

So then, is Corporal Punishment the answer? Should it make a comeback?

My answer, yes I think it should be brought back. However, teacher’s safety must be considered and punishments properly monitored. But most of all, something that will NEVER change, it always starts at home. No matter how much you reprimand a child, if they aren’t getting the cement to build the proper foundation to build on, it’s all pointless.

Alternatives that can be implemented to compensate for the human trash some feel the need to still call parents, can be the investment of counselors who pupils can be comfortable with and talk to. Individuals not ruled by stupid people judgment and school procedure who are free to actually talk to the children and seek the help they need.

As for protecting the children, how about we screen the people who we send to teach them. Train them to defend themselves, teach them quality abilities and techniques to use in teaching the children at acceptable levels and actually assessing them to ensure that they aren’t ‘going off their rocker’.

Also, now it’s a little outside the box, but how about we pay them? You know recognize the people who are molding the minds that will one day be running things while we watch from the sidelines?

Actions speak louder than words Mr Gordhan

Something tells me that Pravin Gordhan isn't getting any Christmas gifts from parliament this year, or maybe he gets a bonus. Who knows?

As most have probably read already, earlier this week Mr Gordhan declared that all government credit cards be cut up and wasteful expenditure be stopped immediately, leaving all MP’s with the unfortunate decision to cancel that Hilton Hotel booking and instead stay in one of the Protea hotel’s rooms, the horror I tell you…

In a bid to assure the masses that taxpayer monies would no longer grease the luxuriously fluffy lives of our supposedly hard-working officials and states personnel, Mr Gordhan goes on and boldly claims that no new credit cards would replace the ones to be tossed out. He went on to assure us how all these ‘benefits’, that have been funded by our hard earned income by the way, such as fancy cars and comfy flights and so on would end… apparently.

But of course as I came to the end of the article I finally saw the catch where all this was only to come into effect on the 1 December. [I assume it to be this year 2013, though the article I read doesn't specify.]

In all honesty, this announcement doesn't come as a surprise to me. The government has been attacked by other political parties, the public and media for long enough now to know they need to actually do something or they are good and thoroughly screwed.

All the financial misconduct that has been leaked out and continues to leak out is starting to anger the majority and I’m guessing it’s starting to affect their pockets in some way, or why else do something about it?

Okay, yes… I can be somewhat of a pessimist at times, especially when it comes to our lovely government, but I work on facts] and experience. In the past few months alone, too many officials have been caught with either their hand in the cookie jar or with their pants down, both scenarios which somehow seemed to expose some kind of huge financial hiccup.

Now whether or not it was a case of false accusation or someone using those caught as scapegoats, I think it can be considered generally irrelevant in this case. Why you may ask? Well, because;

•          Karma will deal with that, and
•         The Money/Property/whatever Valuable is still gone, wasted, lost between outstretched words and continuous explanations that explain nothing.

So with such a pothole of a track record it was only a matter of time before something was going to happen and with it a reaction.

Personally, I think the E-Tolls were the public’s last straw, the ‘event’ that tipped the bucket, if you will. It was bad enough that SANRAL was pushing for it to exist, but really what broke the stick was the signing of the ‘E-Toll Bill’ [let’s be honest, no one will really call it anything else…] by our President, who ensured his absence from the country at the time of the big news to the rest of us.

Sure you could say the bucket was already swinging with the whole Nklandla stuff and the Guptagate area of things, but those were ‘over the fence’ kind of issues. E-tolls on the other hand live in your backyard and suck the color right out from your sunrise and we all need those beautiful colors of our country’s sunrise when we wake up and need to start a day without ramming our cars into unwanted structures or setting fire to incompetent colleagues/bosses put into positions to make the company look good, while you actually do the work, without the pay….

But getting back on track, E-toll was the hand that pushed and the result was simple, enough was enough. Already being taxed three ways to Sunday for those roads AND other’s fluffy life styles, the public obviously wouldn't just sit back and accept a fourth hand digging into a very slimming salary as well. So now we have the bucket tipped and all this goo crawling around and we see it spawning some strange things, take the EFF for example.

And the result: The Government trying to cover its ass with all the same pre-election ‘tactics’ [which still boggle my mind as to why they still work], except of course it would seem our president has realized that maybe, just maybe, he should talk to the ‘educated’ and thus he sends our former president to talk to those considered worthy. Of course we should just forget he was chased out by JZ and all those whispered fights and scandals, but whatever right? Water under the bridge…

Let’s not forget the ‘punishments’ for all those officials who were caught being bad. But to that I can only quote Trevor Noah in asking ‘Who gets fired into their position?’

If being caught and punished by my boss meant I not only kept my job, but about 16 million Rand as well, where do I sign up!

Now we have Pravin Gordhan, most likely just trying to calm the riled citizens who watch as the higher ups live it up, while the rest of us wonder where the hell we will get the next pay out to feed our children, ourselves, our pets. How much we will have left to pay for our barely roadworthy vehicles or public transport or even how much we can scramble together to pay school fees, house payments, rental… how much we have to live AFTER we've probably bought the left shoelace of some official we are likely never to meet.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the message he comes with. The picture he paints looks promising. The words he strings together are hopeful, HOWEVER, they are still just words.

Actions speak louder than words and unfortunately, over the last 19 years of leadership, our government has shown a progression of action that went from the outlines of hopes, dreams, the writings of laws and then suddenly to complete disinterest, corruption and the blatant disregard of the public’s opinion.

So forgive me while I don’t believe the beautifully stringed sentences until action is taken, proven and a difference is seen and the public actually matters more than how sad MP’s are that they can’t have an all-you-can-eat at meetings about their next vacation in Mexico.

Juju - hopeless giant baby

“Beware of the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry, [who] infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How will I know? For this I have done. And I am Julius Caesar.”

What is it about some people that make them want to experience something that most of us would rather avoid?

Has film and TV exposed us too much to content that makes us wonder, ‘What if?’ or ‘What would it be like?’

Is it because we've read so much of it all in history books, or maybe took too much interest in history class and neglected all our woodwork homework?

Why does it seem like the leaders of our country so badly want to lead us into war?

I have never expected much to come from Julius Malema’s campaign. I mean, with tax evasion charges and fraud charges looming over his head, I would have thought it was pretty obvious that voting for him was just asking for the apocalypse to come calling. But with the amount of supporters I have seen around, I am truly... just… WTF!?

Now, I read his most recent campaign [to my knowledge] of how he speaks of some new “baby” being born and how it should be feared. He goes on to state something about a ‘home for the hopeless’.

Oh! But my favorite part comes when he harps on about ‘the expropriation of ‘white’ land owners, while lashing out, once again, at the ANC.

I am continually amazed and saddened whenever this man opens his mouth. Each word a contradiction of his actions, not to mention a blatant instigation towards a war I’m sure he’ll be the first to run from.

‘…Expropriation of ‘white’ land owners…’?

I really wish he’d be more specific. Surely he cannot mean EVERYBODY? What about those who have worked just as hard as those other previously disadvantaged individuals have, with blood, sweat and tears put into the last 20 years to earn the land they live on. 

Will they too be ‘expropriated’ simply because of the color of their skin?

What if they had been disadvantaged as well during those times because they chose to treat everyone equally human, what then?

Aaah… then we have the ‘inbetweeners’, neither here nor there.

Don’t tell me you've forgotten all about them. The ones of origin, right alongside you, maybe even way before you. Of course they grew when the ones from far and the ones next door decided they weren't so different after all. Or are they just not ‘dark’ enough for you Julius? Too much ‘blood of the oppressor’ in them [which by the way would be partially wrong in many cases]

What about their land rights? Never heard you mention anything about that.

Honestly Mr Red-Beret, I just can’t keep up anymore.

You keep shouting ‘Equality’, but you go around and direct it to a single race, as if other races don’t occupy this land.

You quack on and on about how the ANC is deceiving us and how they steal from us, but then you flash around your fancy cars and houses and beg us to believe you only live off R20 000 a month and when you get caught you refuse to admit to the lies and give up the cash and belongings, claiming you did nothing wrong.

You preach to the youth of loyalty and fighting for freedom, after you just finished bashing your former employers [the ANC] on how horrid they are, after which you encourage them to ‘literally’ fight against the system, effectively endangering their lives and taking away their freedom.

Then, once all is said and done, the streets in blood but your hands all ‘clean’, there you go off into the shadows to hide in you luxury, leaving all your followers with nothing but lost loved ones, broken homes, biased laws and broken promises.

Words on a board, Queue Politicians

‘Words… they are but letters stringed together. Empty of all, except the ink we used to create them and the material we lay them upon.’ – Tracy-Lee van der Haar

Of course, that is until you apply feelings to the equation.

I recently saw the news about billboards being put up, advertising the E-Tolls. They were pretty simple, blurred picture of the things as the background and the message ‘E-Tolls. Proudly brought to you by the ANC’, pretty straight forward, to the point, no fluff.

But obviously, someone found offense, most likely an ANC supporter or maybe even one of the officials passing by in their helicopter [you know, ‘cos driving costs, petrol, etc….]

Their complaint is basically how this ‘is not funny’, ‘defamation’, ‘against election something or other…’, I’d go one but it’s a bunch of BS.

Oooo, did I just say that •o• !? Yes, yes I did.

‘E-Tolls, Proudly brought to you by the ANC’

There is absolutely nothing untrue about this statement, it is FACT. Whether the ANC likes it or not, it cannot be changed. That thing was 100% ANC supported and signed into existence, not to mention financially sustained, under the ANC administration. Our President made sure of this when he knowingly and willingly [can I add negligently… O_o] signed that law into effect last month.

It isn’t false advertising, just words. Powerful words, yes but only because they were given power by those who chose to take offense by it [Those pesky feels … >.<].  

The only way to find that statement offensive, derogatory, or whatever defence they plan to cook up, is if you take from it a feeling of guilt or discomfort.

It is unfortunate that it happens to be negative publicity, but you kinda did it to yourself… can’t really blame that on others.

Admittedly, the DA could have dealt with the President’s snub to the public, differently. But having played nice(ish) for so long and constantly hitting the wall, I can sort of see why they take the jabs where they can. Of course it doesn’t change the fact that this stunt will cost them.

But at least the billboards will be around for a while according to a recent statement from the DA. 

Frankly I think there should be more and they should last longer, you know to prepare everyone for it. After all, according to all advertising laws and regulations, this ad is in no way a violation of any legislation.

Huh… Funny how one can have a love/hate relationship with the laws and regulations in this country *-*

E-Tolls (those things...)

I wasn't going to touch this with a tooth pick, let alone a stick. 

Why? Well, my naïve self actually had a smidgen of hope left in our government… σ_σ I know right.

I figured even they drive cars and stuff, you know - the fancy ones we sort of pay for but can’t afford ourselves, and with all the functions and very important meetings they go to, I can just imagine all the travelling they do. 

So it would make sense that this ridiculous thing they want to sign into effect wouldn't happen. Because as much as we dislike parting with our hard earned income to pay taxes, I'm pretty sure our great leaders are far more reluctant to part with their own…uh… income.

But it seems my faith in humanity is just destined to be tested- again =_=

When the hold on signing the thing was announced to be next year ‘sometime’, it didn't take much thought to realize that was an election ploy. It was a really sad attempt from the ANC to tease us into voting for them, trying to appear indifferent to SANRAL’s constant jabber.

But once again, the ANC misjudged the intelligence of the people they were SUPPOSED to be serving and as evidence came to light of all these officials having their hand in the cookie jar, the façade broke and the indifference turned to, *Well, we spent so much fixing up the roads for the 2010 World Cup… then there was the upgrading of roads in general. Eish, all those potholes…*

Comrade say what!? ◘_◘

As far as I know, when a country gets chosen in the FIFA draw to host the World Cup, I'm pretty sure they get paid to do so. I base this assumption on my knowledge as an accountant. Aside from that I'm guessing people are going to want to advertise like mad, so there you have some more income. 

Now let’s not forget all the tourists coming to Africa, and not just for the soccer too, they’ll want to be seeing our lions and some of the other beauties in the Big Five.

Now with this entire party going on and the excitement everywhere, there’s still that one month you take out to be sad and have some moments because, the world might be descending on your homeland, but that doesn't stop the Tax-man from calling.

So how, Dear Comrade, could we ever believe your words of ‘running out of money’? σ_σ

-_- And so the war began, OUTA [Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance] was born to defend the people. 

For a little while they seemed to be doing something, of course this was before ANC officials were caught with the crumbs in their laps. But then, once the cookie jar tipped over completely and the names and connections were stringed together and as I said earlier the façade cracked.

My guess is that ego pushed our President, or whoever was consulting him, to do what he did. I don’t think too much thought was given to the timing, or if it was, then our politicians are starting to slip up about how much respect they're supposed to show they have for the people. 

I mean, we’re still paying for you •-•

So, it seemed that our president felt the cat was out the bag, so why wait and went ahead and signed the legislature that would allow that thing to go ahead and ‘officially’ carry on doing its thing. Turns out the day he did it, was allegedly the same day the appeal that all legislature is open to within a specific time limit, was being placed in court.

Really~ Mr President… of all days, that one?

Look, I think we've established over your term as 'number one' where your priorities lay, but was it really necessary to be so blatant about it?

I don’t know you or your agenda, but from the image your giving, I am pushed-dragged to believe that you really aren't taking this president thing serious any more and that… that won’t end well for anyone, especially with people who do things before thinking.

[*Disclaimer*This is what I'm assuming was said… @_@]

Positive News vs. Actual News

Yesterday I read of a conversation our dear President, Mr Jacob Zuma, had with some journalist students. He was reported to have complained about how fascinated he was with Mexico and how they didn’t have any negative news and that he was sad to return to South Africa and its constant negative media… σ_σ

This led to another article on how; due to our president’s ‘good-news philosophy’, certain things are being neglected, such as how crime statistics were given way after they were needed.

http://mg.co.za/article/2013-10-01-why-kenya-should-be-furious-with-sa/

Really Mr President…? Are you messing with us or is this for realz?

Look, I couldn’t give a stick of gum if the man can read or not [though it would help improve his fiduciary duties…] but so long as you’re running the country properly and shaping it for future generations […something I think you need some help with btw @_@] I can tolerate it. But if you are going to play ignorant to what is so blatantly obvious in Mexico and then try and implement the same thing over here. Then you need to take a long, secluded vacation… elsewhere, or maybe take some leave and go visit Mexico for a while. I am sure then you will learn that what you don’t know CAN kill you, more often than not.

Hey, I understand that it’s sad reading negative news almost all the time and wondering if anything good ever happens anymore. It’s partially why I stopped bothering with media for a long time.

But trying to enforce this ‘good-news philosophy’, where all that’s happening is you higher ups forcing journalists [some who don’t even take much convincing anymore -_-] and basically wiping all the crap under a rug and trying to distract anyone looking with all the pretty patterns lining the rug. 

Do you really think the people would stand for that? You honestly cannot tell me you have forgotten who it is that pays for all the sparkles and speed you VIPs like to ‘hide’?

It seems to me that all that was discovered in Mexico was how well to run a system so you don’t get caught and shut the complaining workers up. After all, they’re just the funding, there’s no need for their feelings and opinions •_•

I’m not saying positive news […the true stuff…] isn’t a bad thing. My day has been turned for the better more than once because of it, but the appreciation of positive cannot exist without knowing the extent of the negative.

Admittedly SA’s negative isn’t exactly one we should be proud of, but I don’t feel the government or its body are in a place to complain on that. Don’t complain about a stomach-ache and continue to eat the cake!

Point is, as negative as it’s going to be, we [The People] are owed the Actual news, it is ours to be given. Why? You might ask, simple. We pay for the running of a country, therefore we’d like the progress report, which just so happens to be the news [>>_>>well, the uncontrolled ones…<<_<<]. 

Denying us that progress report gives us the right to withhold funds.

Now you wouldn’t like that, would you?

Apparently, women can't drive σ_σ

So… apparently the medieval days have not left us yet. At least that’s what I’m getting from an article I read today.

http://za.news.yahoo.com/saudi-cleric-says-driving-hurts-womens-ovaries-125531390.html

Driving hurts women’s ovaries?  ◘_◘ this right here, someone needs to explain to me…

See, I didn’t take science/biology back in high school, dumb move on my part, but from basic knowledge and experience as a woman, I’m not seeing the connection between a car and the innards of the female body [unless of course we’re talking about the places many have regretted being 9 months later….].

Of course, once I was done reading the rest of the article, my filed-away promise to read up on this theory vanished. I mean, how could I take it seriously when it turns out that this ‘warning’ comes from a man who clearly just doesn’t want some female ban, that I’m surprised even exists, to be lifted?

‘Automatically affects the ovaries and pushes up the pelvis…’ 

Last I checked sir that was called sitting down. Pretty sure the same happens to you, except for the ovary thing. But hey I could be wrong, wouldn’t be the first time.

And playing the ‘It affects the children…’ card, that just screams to me that you are trying to influence the gullible and naïve, not to mention the poorly educated, as it seems you prefer ‘your’ beautiful woman to stay [funny though, considering they still outsmart you…]. I take offense here too, as I have been put into this category, on occasion >.<, of either being naïve or gullible. The only difference I seem to have, a privilege I wasn’t even aware of, was growing up in South Africa. 

Trying to impose such a ban, or any of the other outrageous restrictions you seem to have, on the women here is like asking for a reason to be humiliated and stripped of your manhood and rights as a living and breathing human being σ_σ

Then you just had to go and do it, didn’t you? You had to bring in some religious literature, the Quran and Sunna.

Now I’ve never read either, but I am very fascinated by the culture and no doubt will find time to acquire these books, but I will go on and assume it is the equivalent to the Bible, a book I know.

If memory serves, these brilliant texts where written thousands of years ago and unlike the laws of today, they cannot be amended just because someone feels like breaking a law or two, but not feeling too~ bad about it. 

On that note, unless archaeologists and historians are hiding some big secret, I don’t think any vehicles existed back then, so saying that those holy relics forbid the act of women driving…. Just no, go back to the rock you lived under when common sense was being freely given.

Look, I’m not saying ALL women should be on the road, but that’s more a logical-common-sense sort of problem. But both genders have their fair share of crappy drivers, women just tip the scale a bit more… okay maybe slightly more, but that doesn’t mean you pass the same judgement on the whole group. How the hell do you think racism and segregation started?

South Africa's Reputation... Positive σ_σ

I recently read about a survey conducted in an unspecified place or manner, which had declared that South Africa’s general reputation internationally, was positive…. σ_σ

http://za.news.yahoo.com/sa-rep-positive-abroad-090813209.html

It goes on to say how foreigners view South Africa in a favourable light, though there was that little ‘dip’ with the Marikana incident and then the unfortunate scandal with the Oscar Pistorius at the beginning of the year, all was still looking good and then when the good President of the world USA, Mr Barack Obama popped in, while on his way to some important people summit, our popularity seemed to climb higher.

But, then you have the South African peoples who disagree with these faceless foreigners. The people of SA view their country on a very negative scale, disagreeing with the rosy glasses they believe the foreigners have been given.

I’ll be honest; I’m with my peoples on this one. At first I had to think about it objectively, but after reading one of the comments on the article, I realised where my loyalties fall.

That comment went as follows:

‘I honestly think we are so ignorant and not appreciating what our government is doing for this great country ....our government deliver , every1 has a job ,home , books for school ,grants for having babies , hospitals are running proper ,police stations / prisons arent packed everything is just...’

There’s more, but what’s the point? We all know where it’s going to -_-

Are there really such blinded people still around these days, so convinced by lazy attempts at brainwashing, that they argue things that you need only a window or a road to disprove?

I don’t mean to disrespect anyone, but come on!

Foreigners may not stay around here long enough on their holidays to notice, but nationals? Really!? You live here. All it takes is barely a day and 30 minutes or less of news to know how bad things are getting and have been.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe we live in different countries, or maybe you have not read…-no walked down the street lately.

Unemployment is at its highest and people line the streets looking for piece-work or dark opportunity. Jobs are being given to the wrong people, who are either ‘window-dressing’ or a friend of a friend who might have slept with a friend.

And books for school? You’re kidding right? It was headlines for months how government was failing to deliver books to certain schools, which eventually had to shut down due to the horrible service delivery.

Hospitals aren’t even guarantees for health in some places anymore. An earlier article covers how one minister states herself that the conditions of some health care facilities are so bad it’s inhumane, but what can they do… budget cuts, Oh! And that new house the president just had to buy for wife No. XX…

Oh, let's not forget the other day's article on one of SAPS chief of police being caught without valid documents to actually be in his appointed position. By the way have you even been to a prison lately? Saying prisons aren’t full? Who told you that? If that is empty, then I wonder and quake at the thought of what you consider a full house… O_O

Look, SA isn’t all bad. Our landscapes are breath-taking. Our sunsets and sunrises are unbelievable. Our diverse cultures remain exciting and so enjoyable. Plus we have LIONS, they may not roam the streets and live in our backyards [most days…] but we have them… and the other wild life the foreigners travel forever to see.

But you cannot ignore the fact that we literally have criminals in parliament, not being convicted or tried doesn’t change or wipe away their actions and past. We hold records in being famous for high rape statistics and murder statistics. When people think of HIV/Aids they immediately think of Africa. These are still things out there, but most of all inside our lands.

Smiling pretty for the foreigner’s camera isn’t going to make these things go away, nor will it bring in investors, Mr Trevor Ndlazi. You really think those guys with the money don’t do research before jumping into bed with anyone? They look beyond the smiling photos and no amount of discount on protex soap is going to encourage them to buy into a failing economy, being run by a corrupt government, on the verge of being taken down by its own people.

Just sayin’

Tragic Pinetown Crash - Trucks & Taxis

Can I just put it out there, say what many have probably asked already, or at least thought about.... How weird was it, that there happened to be a guy with a camera just driving conveniently on that road at that time ○_○, I'm just saying, that's pretty interesting/lucky/depressing/cool/weird stuff right there...

Seriously tho: car accidents are nothing to laugh or joke at, let alone beat around the bush about.
It doesn't matter if it was a minor or major crash, lives will always be affected by these horrid occurrences and I say this from a personal standing. Lives are especially changed when out of these accidents we are met with loss of life.

In an article I came across recently, I was saddened by the tragic news of a truck smashing through '4 taxis and one VW car' resulting in a major loss of life as these taxis were fully loaded and no one from the VW is said to have survived [having watched the video, I can understand why...]. This crash occurred in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal on 6 September 2013 around 19:00 pm, receiving quite a bit of coverage for obvious reasons and some sadder reasons which make me wonder why I still believe in people.

As I understand it, the truck driver's brakes had allegedly failed, making it impossible for him to slow down and thus unable to stop at the red light, as it changed, thereby ramming the vehicles as they pulled away upon seeing the green light, as it changed.

See where I'm going with this? No... okay, maybe a bit more.
The series of events I have just mapped out inevitably led to the unfortunate loss of 23 lives, along with 33 injuries. That gives us a total of 56 lives changed forever by something no one could have seen coming, or could they?

Apparently this stretch of road has had visits from the Reaper before and is considered a risky road [not that you can see any signs to this indication on the road =_=] making it something close to common knowledge to any regular drivers to be wary. Take that with the fact that it was night, we have the other non-regulars covered with the general expectation of both observation and vigilance.

Still with me? Good, now let's get to it!
Is no one going to say anything about how the taxi drivers where already over the line and in effect jumping their red light?

While I understand this doesn't justify a company not keeping the required maintenance on all their vehicles, it can't be ignored that s*#! happens. Surely the taxis saw that the truck wasn't/wouldn't/couldn't stop. 

After watching the video, we see that a smaller car in the fourth lane sped like a bat out of hell after a slow pull away. It is glaringly obvious this person was way over the line, more so than the two taxis in front of the camera, but they clearly understood that with such risk comes the need to have a keen vigilance and observation of their surroundings, so what is it they saw and the drivers of the taxis didn't? 

Can you really only blame the driver of the truck for the other driver's negligence?

 In SA, taxis are a very well known form of transportation and to many the only form, being affordable and convenient. But if anything, our country has taught us, such good things come at a price, with taxis it is the price of safety [come at me all you want, you know it's true]. Seating limits have long ago become jokes and interior decoration. So it is not hard to imagine how the Reaper reached his quota that evening.

Whether or not the drivers of those taxis survived, they are just as at fault for not taking into account the lives they themselves were responsible for. Those innocent passengers put their lives in his hands when they climbed into that vehicle, a transaction of more than just money was made, there was the exchange of trusting another with your most valuable possession ever, your life.

Now everyone knows that when that drivers test is passed, plus no signs of traffic cops visible on the side lines [those moving bushes], speed limits become things you glance at for general reference, just in case that corner comes up...
But when you're driving a fully loaded truck, from a company you even slightly suspect cuts even an inch of costs, anywhere, you don't speed past a number at least lower than the 'reference'. You're a truck, it's your job to annoy us with your slow progress and half an hour turn. More so if you've been on the road for long and it's dark out.

So I find it sad, after taking all this in, that people are focusing only on the truck driver. Yes, I get it - they want someone to blame, but I can guess at least a few are doing it for monetary gain, something my soul cries at. It also doesn't help that the company that owns the truck is taking advantage of their grief and selling the driver out to save from forking out the cash, a penalty for their own stupidity on cutting costs in the wrong area, in my opinion. I mean, false documents all of a sudden popping up? Seriously? O_o...

My heart aches for the lives lost, but along with that, it hurts with the slow decay of common sense mankind seems to be experiencing.