My Hero

[HKRockChick]

Nelson Mandela...



story.news.yahoo.com/news...ndela_dc_2



Mandela, in Farewell Speech, Slams Iraq War



Mon May 10, 7:33 AM ET Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo!



By Andrew Quinn



CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) - Former President Nelson Mandela Monday hailed South Africa's 10 years of peaceful multi-racial democracy as inspiration for a world he said was saddened and horrified by the U.S.-led war in Iraq (news - web sites).



The 85-year-old anti-apartheid icon, in a farewell address to parliament on the 10th anniversary of his inauguration as the country's first black president, urged South Africans to come together to meet their new challenges: poverty, unemployment and HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS (news - web sites).



"We live in a world where there is enough reason for cynicism and despair," said Mandela, a fierce critic of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, told parliament.



"We watch as two of the leading democracies, two leading nations of the free world, get involved in a war that the United Nations (news - web sites) did not sanction," Mandela said, adding that the world had been horrified by reports of torture of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. and British forces.



"We see how the powerful countries, all of them so-called democracies, manipulate multilateral bodies to the great disadvantage and suffering of the poorer developing nations."



Mandela -- who stepped down in 1999 and wryly referred to himself as "a retired old pensioner" -- said South Africa had forged a path based on respect for human dignity.



"Historical enemies succeeded in negotiating a peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy exactly because we were prepared to accept the inherent capacity for goodness in the other," he said in a joint appearance with former President F.W. de Klerk, his fellow architect in South Africa's transformation.



BOWING OUT



Mandela, who turns 86 on July 18 and appears increasingly frail, said Monday's speech would be his last to parliament and aides say he plans to drastically cut back on his public schedule to concentrate on his family and writing projects.



Legislators in somber business suits and spectacular African traditional dress filled the ornate parliamentary hall with rhythmic clapping and a melodic chant of "Nelson Mandela" as the white-haired statesman made his way slowly out of the chamber.



"Your words of wisdom have not fallen on deaf ears," Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza said in parliament's official thanks to its founding president.



Mandela said he believed the country was in good hands with his successor President Thabo Mbeki, who led the ruling African National Congress (news - web sites) (ANC) to another landslide victory in elections in April, winning a second five-year term.



"His achievement as president and national leader is the embodiment of what our nation is capable of," Mandela -- who has been known to disagree with Mbeki in the past -- said before an audience that included Mbeki and his entire cabinet.



De Klerk, who shared a Nobel Peace prize with Mandela, said South Africa averted the racial bloodbath many feared only through tough negotiation.



"We all did the right thing: we came together," de Klerk said. "I call on all people to continue to work together and to take hands and to make our country a shining example to the rest of the world."



Mandela used his speech to highlight one of his main causes: the HIV/AIDS epidemic which infects about one of nine South Africans, making it the hardest hit country in the world.



"HIV/AIDS continues to threaten our future in a particularly frightening manner," Mandela said, adding poverty, unemployment and disease "blot out the landscape as we strive to give content to the democratic commitment of a better life for all."



"Our democracy must bring its material fruits to all, particularly the poor, marginalized and vulnerable. Our belief in the common good ultimately translates into a deep concern for those who suffer want and deprivation of any kind," he said.

[Seismic Anamoly]

I agree with what he says about the war in Iraq.



Wonder why he didn't kick the "Great Satan" out of South Africa when he had the power to do so, or why the current powers that be don't tell the Yankee to go home??



Maybe this is why:

Quote:

---

South African exports to the U.S. for 2002 were $4.2

billion. South Africa's trade surplus with the U.S.

for the first four months of 2003 increased to $734

million from $467 million for the corresponding period in 2002.



About 800 American companies, including

subsidiaries, agents, distributors and franchisees,

do business in South Africa. They employ over

100,000 people and the foreign direct investment

by U.S. companies in South Africa stood at

19.6 billion at the end of 2000.



U.S. companies spend on average around 1.5

billion per annum on corporate social

responsibility programs such as burn units, day

care centers, clinics, AIDS projects, programs to

combat abuse of women and children, and

literacy and education facilities. Each year these

companies spend millions on training and skills

development for their employees.

---

I think Nelson bites a/the hand that feeds his Country.



But what else is new.

[NRKofOver]

Seismic, having good trade relations with anyone doesn't necessarily equate to an agreement on foreign policy. We trade with China and the entire time berate them about their human rights violations. These are two separate governmental activities. It would be great if our economics were tied to our moral character, but that's just not reality, not for America or any other nation. We aren't in SA for benevolent reasons, that happens to be a wonderful by-product of profits created through cheaper labor, less environmental regulations and cheaper resources.

My music for the disenchanted masses

[Seismic Anamoly]

Thanks for the Economics lecture. I'll file it with the rest.

[Rev9Volts]

well i heard it was his wife who did the bombing he went to jail for. however here are some facts about south africa since he became president...





Ten Years After Apartheid -

The Raw Facts

By Jan Lamprecht

African Crisis.org

5-9-4



South Africa's first "democratic election" was held on 27th April 1994.



Here are the things you will never see in the major news media regarding post-Apartheid South Africa...



* In 10 years, 1+ million South Africans, mostly blacks, lost their jobs due to the ANC's creeping socialism



* Unemployment is at a staggering 45%+ - much worse than under white rule & worse than the 30% unemployment in the USA during the Great Depression



* 1 million whites stand to lose their jobs in the coming years to Affirmative Action



* 1,450+ White commercial farmers were murdered & our food production is being threatened by "Land Reform"



* They say by 2014, 30% of commercial farmland will be owned by blacks

though I think it will happen much sooner & on a much bigger scale



* 115,000 land claims by blacks have been processed so far - and millions of hectares of land have been handed over to them



* There are farms in South Africa, which were prosperous when run by whites, which were handed over to blacks. These farms then collapsed after 2+ years of black management and are now derelict



* We are the rape capital of the world... it is conservatively estimated that we have 50,000 rapes per annum



* 21,500 children were raped in 2000



* 40% of rape survivors are under 18...



* 1,231 children under 5 were raped in 13 months by blacks believing in AIDS myths. Many babies who are raped die...



* We are now an international drug-smuggling route, comparable to Colombia...



* We export cannabis grown by blacks...



* We are the largest users of mandrax in the world...



* 150-200 Police are shot dead annually by violent criminals...



* Our Police have the highest suicide rate in the world...



* Our society is 7 times more violent (per capita) than the USA...



* In violent crimes, we match Russia & Colombia...



* Crime is so high the Govt put a moratorium on the release of crime statistics for a year & fudged them ever since...



* The Democratic Alliance (conservatively) estimates there are 300,000 robberies per annum



* Our prisons are often filled to capacity (170,000+) & then thousands are let go, sometimes without being charged...



* In January 2004, it was reported that some of our prisons are 300% over capacity...



* In March 2004, it was reported that the prison population was 180,000...



* Mandela's "Birthday Present" to the country (yes they used those words), was to release 9,000 criminals...



* Murderers have been "forgiven" by our Presidents, only to murder again...



* On 3rd March 2004, on SABC TV3 News it was announced that to "Celebrate Ten Years of Democracy" they might let thousands of prisoners go free...



* More prisons have been built after Apartheid but even that is not enough to cope with the crime wave...



* More blacks are in our prisons after Apartheid than before. (They no longer fear the Police)...



* The ANC LOVES criminals. They gave them the vote! It was announced that over 100,000 prisoners would be registered & allowed to vote



* Some criminals were afraid of being registered to vote. They feared if their finger-prints were taken they'd be implicated in other yet undiscovered crimes! (My question is how they can be in prison in the first place without being fingerprinted?? Strange things happen in this country!)



* We had 10 years of peace, with no international sanctions and yet, the much-awaited boom never came



* Our socialist economy dribbles along. GDP growth is estimated at 1.3% per annum which compares weakly with (sometimes) double digit growth rates under white rule.



* The Democratic Alliance estimates that 6% GDP growth is possible even now if the economy was run better.



* In the Johannesburg (Gauteng) area, 80% of self-help schemes for blacks have failed since 1994



* Let there be no illusions where the ANC wants to take us. They support & give money to: Zimbabwe, Haiti & DRC (Zaire) who are ruled by Socialist Dictators who suppress even the blacks!



* In the April 2004 election the ANC finally attained its goal of getting 66% vote



* This means they can change the constitution at will and no other political party can stop them



* This is what Robert Mugabe was able to do before he took 95% of the land from 4,500 white farmers



* The ANC got 70% of the votes (although the IFP complained that there were 42 election irregularities in KwaZulu/Natal alone)



* Now that we are officially, and legally the latest One Party State in Africa, we will walk the path of others like Zimbabwe where eventually nobody, not even the blacks, have any freedom any more...



* South Africa's economy, employment & crime rates were better when the world hated us and we had civil strife



* In the end, the only winners were the handful of the new Wealthy Black Super Elite...





www.africancrisis.org/Ph_TenYears.asp







now having posted this i do not know what the statistics were before as far as rape etc. hopefully they are lower than before...

[HKRockChick]

Get a grip.

[Rev9Volts]

on whart debbie. it seems obvious they do not have enough breains or are too corrupt. it is ok, running a country is not that easy. perhaps all this came along after mandella. still belgium colonized the congo and built roads hospitals schools and stableized the country. later the congoans wanted freedom and independance rather like the blacks in south africa. they both got it both countries went downhill. congo zairre whatever it is now. they werre better off with educated whites ruling it and taking care of them.

[Galmin]

[Rev9Volts]

nop to answer your question. it just seems from what i read in general south africa is worse off than before...



from what i read europe colonized several/many african countries.



ultimately they threw out the european countries and the african countries reverted back to the barbaric/ uncivilized/corrupt mess they were before europe came in.



so who is the pict5ure of???

[Galmin]

You don't recognize Jan Lamprecht?

[Rev9Volts]

no and never heard of him... too manyt countries to keep up with.

[Galmin]

Quote:

---

no and never heard of him...

---

FYI, you quoted a long paragraph of his. Ahem..

[Rev9Volts]

oh man that is too funny!!! and should be embarrasing... i just saw he wrote that...



i did a search on nelson mandela and this guy 's article came up...



so is he telling the truth or what?



al i know is i really figure the debears family diamond cartel really runs south africa...

[NRKofOver]

Rev, I think 'better' is relative. Obviously there will be problems with freedom, but a 'good' society through oppression is a terrible thing. Some would say that, economically, the US was better off during slavery. Or that black people didn't have as many problems because their lives were simple and generally taken care of. That doesn't mean slavery shouldn't have been abolished. If I told you that every American would be better off, safer, healthier and economically stronger with a fascist government would you say ok? Probably not.

My music for the disenchanted masses

[Rev9Volts]

if they are better off the fascism ain't so bad....