do you know your responsibilities as well as you know your rights?
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1823335&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights from Seth Brau on Vimeo.
Mob beats up Alzheimer patient for ‘shoplifting’
Alzheimer sufferer James Frederick Brown, 69, found dead in police cell for ‘stealing’ chocolate worth R8,50…
“Kill him, kill him,’ screamed the Shoprite cashiers as the mob carried the frail old man out, with children punching him from below…
Jul 11 2008 Kriel.
Afrikaner Alzheimer sufferer James Frederick Brown, 69, couldn’t even remember whether he’d paid for a bar of chocolate — but he was set upon on Tuesday at the Shoprite supermarket in Kriel by a security guard — and then attacked by a vigilante mob, which was egged on by screaming cashiers yelling ‘kill him, kill him”, while they were carrying the sick old man out of the shop, punching and kicking him.
Mob carried him out while kids were beating him up:
An elderly eye-witness — too terrified to provide a name — described how a large mob had dragged the sick old man out of the shop – ‘children were even beating up on him from below’.
* “It was horrid. Even the cashiers added to the hysteria by screaming that the old man had to be killed if he wants to steal chocolates.’
Brown’s daughter Rose-Marie Steyn said the old man had wandered from their home at around 12:30 from their home in Springbok Avenue, something he did often. “Everybody in our neighborhood knew of his confusion caused by his Alzheimer’s. We started worrying when he didn’t come home at around 13:30,’ she said.
Police held him at gunpoint in a dark cell:
A hairstylist working nearby then phoned her husband Willie to let them know that the old man had been arrested for theft.
* “We spent all afternoon at the police station trying to see him but the police refused, claiming he was ‘aggressive’ and should rather sleep.’
* “We told the police that he is an Alzheimer’s sufferer but they refused to listen,’ said his wife Rosa Brown. “A policeman even told me that he was keeping his gun on him because James was so wild.’ They insisted that he be kept in the cells until 18:00.
“When we finally went to fetch him Willie went along to calm my dad down,’ said Mrs Steyn. The horrified family found the old man lying on his back on the floor of the dark cell, in a large puddle of blood. The police on the scene claimed he ‘d probably ‘fallen in the cell and hit his head’.
Local doctor Leon Pelser immediately was called in to examine Mr Brown in the cell with family present.
* Dr Pelser said: ‘it was so dark that I had to ask a policeman to turn on his flash light so that I could try and revive Mr Brown. Under these most horrid circumstances I opened up his airways with a pipe and massaged his heart, but to no avail. I entered the cause of death as ‘unnatural’.
* “I examined him very thoroughly because I knew there will be an inquest.’
Police superintendent Abie Khoabane claimed in his comments to Beeld newspaper that Brown ‘already had blood on his face and his clothes when the (shop’s) security guards handed him over to the police.’ He wasn’t there at the time – he ‘s just the police spokesman for the province.
Dr Pelser said he’d found wounds to the old man’s right-eye, his nose and chin, and a large hole in the back of his skull. How he came to get these wounds will have to be established by an inquest.
Beeld cited Mrs Sonto Mlotshwa, the manager of Kriel Shoprite – claiming that the old man had been “arrested for theft”.
* She didn’t know a thing about the way he was assaulted by the mob during this ‘arrest’ although she must have been present, and the security guards wouldn’t say a word either.
* And Shoprite‘s management are also stonewalling: they were unable to comment as to how a confused old man with Alzheimer’s ended up being arrested and assaulted by a howling mob of shoppers, being encouraged to ‘kill him’ by screaming tellers – just because he couldn’t remember whether he’d paid for a R8,50 bar of chocolate or not.
Brown’s family are besides themselves with anger. “How can they do this to an old, sick man? He didn’t deserve this. His illness made him difficult at times, but he probably just forgot to pay,’ his daughter wept.
PS: Shoprite’s management added that they use “outside contractors” to provide security… Of course that makes it all better.
memes
out here in the blogosphere, we’re quick to call a jig a meme. copy it, paste it, tag some peeps and forget about it. sharp! it’s a meme…
yeah well no fine. so let’s call it a blog-meme.
or meme2.0
but it’s not a real meme. remember my post about Mark Twain’s meme?
that’s the ticket. it’s like a brain worm. it gets into your mind and stays – endlessly looping.
its stuck.
its stuck.
its stuck.
Andrew Johnston’s requiem is a real meme.
he’s been singing in my head since I saw his video on cb’s blog.
i’ve played it for my parents – who’ve been humming it ever since.
i showed the video to a neighbor. she sings it at work.
i sing/hum the requiem.
i watch Andrew over and over again.
i’ve posted his video on my facebook profile.
i pray for him every evening at bed time.
i’m blogging about him again!
let him sing some more!!!
Andrew: record and release the track on the web – your magic is changing the world! your voice makes me happy. your song melts frozen hearts. from what i’ve seen – your song reconnects people to the Divine. sing, Andrew. sing!
to the Brits: vote for him!
As I lay in bed last night, it dawned on me that it might sound odd that I’m all in a huff about a winery. Why feel so strongly for a product I no longer use?
Well, here’s the deal. Yes, as an alcoholic I no longer drink, amongst other things, wine. Still, Stormhoek isn’t “just a wine”. Above and beyond the warm memories I associate with a bottle of Stormhoek at a dinner party – the people behind the wine feel like family. Many Geek Dinners (linklove to the Garden Route Geek Dinner that got me started) were sponsored by them, many younglings have been inspired by them and – not to put too fine a point on it – we know them! For crying in a bucket – some of us even own vines at Stormhoek!!
As a last thought on this matter, for now, here’s the deal with wine:
The wine is the brand. You can taste it. Wine carries the story of it’s origin within itself. The soil, the wind, the water, the sun – the actual vines… All of these are translated into the aroma and character of the wine itself.
You can take the same wine – and slap on any old label you please – it will always be the same wine.
Conversely, if you take the “Brand” and stick it onto any old wine – it will be fake.
Shame on you.
I am in shock. Forgive me for not saying more… but I just read this on stii‘s blog:
Stormhoek gets NO love from Origin Wines
Apart from getting a really raw deal from Stormhoek’s UK partners, Orbital, they are faced with even more obstacles. Since Orbital has gone under, it was sold to/taken over by Origin Wines. Their previous website (now, unfortunately also owned by Origin) are now used to spread a bunch of lies:
When we started Stormhoek back in 2003, we sat in our office in London and thought, “Why can’t we make great 5 pound South African Sauvignon Blanc? Why not beat the New Zealanders at their own game? Better, Cheaper and Faster!”
…
Ultimately we went ahead, brought some tech, contracted out our production, designed a label, marketed and launched Stormhoek. People loved the wine!
…
There are some very successful brands in ZA that some nothing more than a label, with everything else being outsourced, but we felt that we needed a place to call home. So, we bought an interest in a little vineyard called Siyabonga, near Wellington. After years of effort, Siyabonga had not been able to sell its wine very successfully, and with Stormhoek’s growing business, it was a perfect place to buy what we could call a home. So it was a good fit for both parties.
Read more here! (For the TRUE Stormhoek story, read here)
Luckily one person did notice that and left a comment, which would be interesting to see how long the comment remains there:
What has happened? I think I cannot say it better than Rob Stokes from Quirk:
The assets of the sunken Orbital were recently bought by Origin, and of course with this purchase came all of Stormhoek’s brand equity in what I would guess to be their biggest market.
In essence what they are now doing is cutting Graham and the team at Stormhoek SA (the people who really care about the brand) out of the UK profit loop. Sure their business will (hopefully!) go to another South African farm, but I’ll bet my favourite Google hat that vast majority of the profits will stay in the UK. As a proud South African, that doesn’t sit well with me.
From what I understand is that Stormhoek will continue to make the good stuff here (a.k.a. the real Stormhoek) and export to basically everywhere, accept the UK. In the UK, Origin is going to continue to bottle and sell Stormhoek, but not with real Stormhoek, which means nothing! I think this Jason guy misses the point about Stormhoek. See, Stormhoek is not just a good brand. The real Stormhoek is a massive success story. It is also a fantastic story! You can put the best bloody Bordeaux wine in a Stormhoek bottle, it is not Stormhoek, as the story is lost. However, all of this will be another great chapter with excellent lessons to be learned in the real Stormhoek’s story! As Rob said in a comment over at Quirk:
My point is that I don’t think the two can be fairly separated. The wine is the brand and vice versa.
Another blind turn of events is that this Jason guy told the real Stormhoek guys that they have to seize the use of all those brilliant little cartoons we grew used to by Hugh MacLeod. That is very sad. From the nasty article on the old Stormhoek blog, it seems like they will also retain the services of Hugh, so it seems that is also lost to the real Stormhoek. 
Very sad… BUT, is there maybe an opportunity lurking for some aspiring blogger in SA to take over that role?! 
Would be kinda tough to beat the brilliant Hugh at his own game though!
There is an upside to all this, of course! Stormhoek will now be more available right here in SA! Since they will not be shipping to the UK anymore, they will distribute much more right here. (At least, thats what I hope!) That sure is good news for all real Stormhoek fans!
So if you feel you’d like to help even more, the best you can do is to talk about all of this on your blogs. The truth will prevail!
Blogged with Flock
1 Year after his conviction – for which the sentence was 1 year’s imprisonment – Kareem has been proved innocent. Makes you wonder…
Blogged with Flock
http://youtube.com/v/COZxeiWaMn8
I found this little clip by accident. Americans have a “National Coming Out Day” (October 11), and this post was part of 2007’s “Video Quilt”.
Check it out.
Below you will find a translation of the 6th letter Kareem sent from prison. The Arabic version is available here.
I write, while the completion of a “whole” year in prison approaches, with my cuffed freedom and restricted movements. The tough experience pushed me to realize the bitterness of injustice that indescribable feeling which has no resemblance, particularly if applied on a victim that committed no guilt. I did nothing but merely practicing my legitimate right to speech, guaranteed by all civil and humanitarian rules despite the tyrants who do not approve it.
Apparently, a quite long time has passed since the day of unjustly sentencing me to four years in prison. Until recently, I was not able to comment on the event because I had no access to media and I was deprived from exchanging mails or talking. I spent more than two months in the cells dedicated to those sentenced to death and serving punitive penalties. The prison officials claimed that there was no other proper place for me. They prevented me from having pens. Whenever I wanted to write a letter, I had no choice but to dictate it!
Now, things have changed greatly. At least, I can write and exchange mails, not with complete freedom though. My letters unlike the letters of other prisoners are subject to censorship. However, the prison officials deny that any of the letters coming to me is confiscated. They confirm that they send them to me after reading the content regardless of content. Therefore, I found it a good opportunity to talk after a long period of forced silence and staying away from those who “invested” my crisis – according to my Tunisian friend, Emad Habib – because they do not deserve my slightest attention.
I still clearly remember that day. I prepared myself, psychologically, to the final session of announcing the judgement. I did not care for the expected sentence, then. I was preoccupied with history and the anniversary that coincided that day. History repeats itself all the time; yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all alike. My final judgement session was held on February 22nd the day that I can never forget.
On the same day forty six years ago – particularly in February 22nd, 1943 – a military court in Germany headed by a “racist” judge sentenced three University of Munich students to death. They are the brothers Sofia and Hans Scholl and their friend Christoph Probst. They were punished because they dared to confront the fascist regime in a non-violent way. They established a resistance movement against the ruling regime. They called it “White Rose Movement.” Their peaceful activism, for which they were executed, was limited to confronting the ruling fascist regime by simple tools like drawing on street walls at night, writing and distributing street bulletins, with the purpose to expose the inhuman crimes against ethnic and religious minorities in Germany. They used to distribute their bulletins inside the campus; computers and blogging was not known for them.
Sixty-four years later, a “tyrant” judge in an Egyptian court, motivated by Al-Azhar University, sentenced me to four years in prison because I practiced my right to free speech online. Al-Azhar University released me recently by expelling me out and I am still paying for this freedom.
I am not trying to compare myself to those brave heroes; I just wanted to focus on the historical coincidence. The blogger friend, Shahinaz mentioned in one of her letters that “tyrants and dictators looks alike in every place and time” However, I was preoccupied by the situation of university in both cases. At that time, University of Munich took the initiative to expel the three students out and handled them to the Gestapo. At this time, Al-Azhar University took the initiative of expelling me out, then informed the prosecutor with my activities… No comment!
Every day in the morning, I find an urge need inside my mind to think of my current situation, as if I am discovering it for the first time. I ask myself many questions with hope to find appropriate answers to justify my current situation. I am detained with dangerous criminals who resemble danger against individuals and properties. I tried to find convincing answers for my questions. At a certain moment, I decided to abandon logical thinking. I decided to look for a good interpretation based on the prevailing inherited concepts of inhuman characteristics and which are mostly related to our miserable facts.
I found out that the accusations levelled against me, regardless of its legal paraphrasing, can be divided into two sections:
A total section related to using my right to free expression in an unfree climate and daring to exceed social, political, and religious limits and redlines.
A detailed section, which can be summarized in the following points:
First: my absolute rejection of violence, particularly that hidden under religious covers and justified by Quran texts, which lost their value by time.
Second: using my mind to analyze the unseen and unbelievable facts derived from religious superstitious heritage.
Third: my rejection to be classified according to any affiliations imposed forcefully on me because I decided not adopt something which does not express what I feel.
Fourth: I believe naively that I live in a democratic free atmosphere and that I enjoy my basic civil rights, including my absolute right to free expression in addition to the aforementioned points. I did not realize the bitter fact that I live under the rule of repressive regime chasing those who have different opinions.
Fifth: Bending myself to frankness and transparency in expressing my views. For example, I am not disguised behind a false name and had been able to do so. It was evident during the investigations conducted by Disciplinary Council of Al-Azhar University and the Public Prosecutor. I think this is the real reason behind everything that happened to me so far.
I think these are the true accusations leveled against me. Things will not change as long as our country does not change. These days, we cannot neglect the tyrant judgment against columnist and poet, Ahmed Abdel Muti Hijazi who was charged with defamation against a mohatasib. He simply talked about religious fundamentalism in one of his articles published in Rosalyousif newspaper, few years ago. He compared between political Islamists and inquisition courts in the Middle Age and Israeli religious extremists who insist that their country is a religious one.
Al-Azhar University is currently planning for a new conspiracy against freedom of thought and expression against Ph.D. Dr. Mahmoud Al-Khayal. He mentioned a TV show that he wants to translate an American book titled “End of Faith” into Arabic. Now, the supporters of retardation are preparing to chase him with the charge of disdaining Islam like what happened with me.
I announce from her that my accusation is not a shame for me. I have it like a crown on my head and necklace on my chest. Every one must know that I did not force myself to respect any tyrant law that hinders freedoms. I am against any act to limit the right of freedom of expression of any person. Laws were created to regulate the relationships between individuals inside the same society. They are not meant to limit their freedoms and violate their basic rights. It is not logic to say that: “… there are limitations on the right to freedom of expression …” according to those who work against freedom. These limitations, according to them, include justifying suppression and intellectual circumcision supported by shallow-minded fundamentalists who cannot go abreast with the modern age.
Let everyone, including the tyrant judges who sentenced me and those who misused my crisis to get me, know that prison will not work out with me. I do believe in myself, respect my right to free thought and expression, and use their minds all the time. My thoughts which deprived them of night sleep, will not change until I get convinced of other thoughts. Terrifying and intimidating me, expelling me out of university and putting me in prison will not change my mind. Also, inciting people to kill me and claiming hisba cases against me and any other barbarian methods will not panic me. Only stupid, weak, and inflexible people use these methods to justify their violent actions by breaking the pencils of writers and silencing their voices. They cannot achieve what they want.
I do not know how to address Al-Azhar University that led me to jail, the tyrant judges who sentenced me to prison, and the leaders of the repressive regime who are preventing us from breathing. The best message I want to deliver to them is quoted from the young Sofia Scholl who were in my age at the time of her execution. She said to the judge who sentenced her to death: “One day, you will be at my place!” This happened.
To the enemies of freedom, tyrants, and authoritarians, heads of religious institutions, officials of the governing regime and their supporters, I say:
“The garbage of history will be stuffed with you soon. The coming generations will not have mercy with you. They will do as I am doing now. They will curse you. Please, make sure that no one will shed a tear for your sake, because you do not deserve it. Tomorrow is ours. It does not matter how tyrant you are in your attempts to silence us and confiscate our views. You should be aware for our revival because your days are counting down. Your dark night approached its end. Our dawn will come up very soon. Tomorrow is ours.”
Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman
To read all previous letters, click here.
Also see a previous post on this blog.
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