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lord_shiva 20-Apr-25, 11:54	South Africa Hero Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was expelled from the United States by white supremacists after trying to explain the problems now facing America. This is not the US of Clinton or Obama, but a nation that has turned dark and malevolent. www.cnn.com Would love someone else’s perspective.
riaannieman 21-Apr-25, 11:13	@lord_shiva lord_shiva, he is not a hero. He is woefully under qualified as ambassador, and was only appointed because he is politically connected. There are several factions within the ANC. The ANC is not a single, cooperative entity. The factions all vie for power. He is opposition for the president, Mr. Ramaphoza. Also he is opposed to ex-president Jacob Zuma. He is not close to vice president Ace Magashule. He is politically connected enough to be a serious political risk to all these big players. It was for the safety of them all to send him away, but he is also strong enough that a third rate country would be a serious slap in the face and cause for political retaliation. So in line with his status and stature, he was sent to the USA to be out of the way and also happy. He has not been in the country for more than a month and already he has started a campaign to become president of the ANC, and thus the country. His appointment as ambassador was for the sake of expedience and does not have anything to do with his abilities. He is connected to a lot of criminal activities, which is another reason he was sent away. He had to be protected from investigations and further activity. He only got the appointment because of his political clout. He is an anarchist who sows disruption, and always has been. He is unscrupulous and would not hesitate to burn anybody around him for his own personal ambition. No diplomat in his right mind would make that remark. It is the total antitheses of what a diplomat should do. It is not the place of a diplomat to voice a personal opinion but to build bridges over and above personal opinion. Seen in the light of the withdrawal of the AGOA concession against South Africa, the bad international relations with terrorist countries like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, China and Russia, the court case in the Hague against Israel, Ebrahim Rasool should have made effort to build our international image with the USA, not break down the mightiest man in the West. South Africa's holier than though attitude is a blatant lie. We never executed the warrant of arrest for Al Baseer when he was here- a man known for atrocities and genocide. South Africa did not condemn Russia in the illegal war against Ukraine, but in fact sided with them and cosied up closer! South Africa actively ignores sanctions against terrorist countries, and sympathizes with Hamas and Hezbollah. We nestle closer to China, another skunk of the world with a proven track record of human rights abuses. No, do not say anything good about Ebrahim Rasool and his bunch of crooks in government and political posts all over the world. He got what was coming to him, he is stupid, under qualified, and only noticed because he is a terrorist....... excuse me, a freedom fighter. I bet the Chinese ambassador to the USA have a different opinion than Mr. Trump, but I also bet he never voices that and does his best to rebuild and repair relationships, even with the current trade war going on.
lord_shiva 21-Apr-25, 12:27	Xi I am glad Xi is not knuckling under to Groper. Markets fell another thousand points today. China has been providing location data of our Red Sea fleet to the Houthis.
mo-oneandmore 21-Apr-25, 17:35	Shiva Your statement that China is providing intelligence about our Navy's Red Sea movements might be correct, but I haven't seen anything to confirm it. USA was providing intelligence to European military's and Russian positions to Ukraine until trump shut it off to better work his deal, deal, deal, and there's no doubt that USA is, or was providing extensive intelligence to Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan, etc about China. The are but three countries with high-tech intelligence gathering capabilities such as satellites and high-altitude aircraft --- China, Russia and USA, but there are many countries with cyber-snoop abilities even though USA is the best at cyber espionage, but that's part of where our trillion dollar defense budget goes. And if the military can't find the bucks to do the job right, The CIA, etc. can always chip-in a few dozen $billion or so.
lord_shiva 21-Apr-25, 19:33	WSJ www.wsj.com
bobspringett 21-Apr-25, 21:32	Shiva 19:33 So China is helping the Houthis? Why are you surprised? Trump has just declared economic war against China, but that only continues what he did in his first term. So why wouldn't China try to make life uncomfortable for him? This is where 'America First!' is good policy, so long as it is done intelligently. Any smart leader would have that aim for his country! But any smart leader would understand that this is not most efficiently achieved by telling the entire world "Get stuffed! We're going to scratch every red cent out of you that we can!" But Trump simply doesn't understand that diplomacy, like life, is not a zero-sum game.
lord_shiva 21-Apr-25, 21:44	What Does Trump Understand? He knows how to strike fear into any Republican office holder more focused on retaining power than on taking a stand on principle. Sadly, that is the vast majority of them. He understands how to mock, revile, insult, and belittle opponents, be they gold star families (Khizr Khan), bereaved war widows, celebrities like Selena Gomez, Alicia Machado (Miss Piggy, Miss Housekeeping), and Kristen Stewart. Groper insults soldiers, dismissing them as suckers and losers--and not just war heroes like John McCain. He callously staged a crass commercial photo op at Arlington Cemetery, desecrating the graves of our fallen soldiers, despite staff telling him that was not permitted. Oh, and he understands graft and corruption, all right. He is getting a $1.5 billion golf resort from Vietnam in exchange for relaxing their tariffs. Elon comes away with Vietnam Starlink contracts as a bonus. He is getting a number of folks seeking favors to purchase his meme coin--millions of dollars worth. Some countries are expected to personally bribe him for tariff concessions. He pocketed the inauguration funds both times he was president. The 2017 fund largely disappeared into his private account, but 2025 was far larger while far less was spent on inauguration activities--yielding an even bigger payoff. The tariffs so far amount to largely nothing more than a protection racket. "Nice looking international commerce you got there--be a real shame if something awful happened to it..."
riaannieman 25-Apr-25, 04:56	@ mo-oneandmore 21-Apr-25, 17:35: On a point of order, the USA does not have the best or largest or most funded cyber intelligence collection capacity in the world. That honor goes to China, with France a close second and Israel in third place. lord_shiva 21-Apr-25, 21:44: I read and reread your post several times, and take note of the accusations. These boil down to: 1. Intimidation of Republicans; 2. Personal insults of various well known people on the world stage; 3. How to orchestrate organized crime in the international arena; 4. Blatant and open corruption abusing his position 1. Please provide proof of the said accusation 1. Not a link to a newspaper, but a detailed explanation with proof of these actions. 2. I concede that his interpersonal relationships are non existing. I wish those on the receiving end of false accusations, rumors and public shame all the best and hope they find justice and appropriate recompense. 3. That is a strong statement and I hope you can clarify it succinctly and with clear and irrefutable proof. Not links to media, but a well reasoned and cohesive argument that can be debated and tested for validity. 4. Even presidents and ex-presidents are not immune to criminal justice procedures. It may take time but eventually such corruption will be exposed. Please share your clairvoyant insights that predicts and connects these corrupt acts to the rewards allegedly involved. In South Africa we have been litigating against ex-president Jacob Zuma for years with little progress so far, but high hopes for success in the future.
mo-oneandmore 25-Apr-25, 07:46	Riann Here's the AI Overview about cyber-intelligence abilities among countries. AI Overview Several countries are considered leaders in cyber intelligence gathering, including the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Australia. These nations have demonstrated strong capabilities in both offensive and defensive cyber operations, intelligence gathering, and cyber resilience. United States: The US is widely recognized as a leader in cybersecurity, with a strong history of investing in cyber intelligence and defense. China: China has emerged as a major player in cyber intelligence, particularly in areas like cyber surveillance and commercial espionage. Russia: Russia is known for its sophisticated cyber capabilities and aggressive cyber operations, including intelligence gathering and potential destructive attacks. United Kingdom: The UK has a well-established cybersecurity sector and a strong intelligence community, contributing to its cybersecurity capabilities. Australia: Australia has been recognized for its proactive approach to cybersecurity and its investment in cyber intelligence gathering. Other Notable Countries: Ukraine: Ukraine has been a significant target and actor in cyber conflicts, leading to a focus on cybersecurity. Netherlands: The Netherlands is known for its strong cybersecurity infrastructure and its role in shaping global cybersecurity standards. Republic of Korea: South Korea has a rapidly growing cybersecurity sector, driven by its technological advancements and its government's focus on cyber resilience. France: France has a well-developed intelligence community and a strong focus on cybersecurity, contributing to its overall cyber capabilities. Germany: Germany has a strong focus on cybersecurity, particularly in protecting critical infrastructure.
lord_shiva 25-Apr-25, 11:46	Riaannieman 4:56 1. Intimidation of Republicans; 2. Personal insults of various well known people on the world stage; 3. How to orchestrate organized crime in the international arena; 4. Blatant and open corruption abusing his position 1. Please provide proof of the said accusation 1. Not a link to a newspaper, but a detailed explanation with proof of these actions. Republican office holders are well aware if they fail to support Trump he will back their primary opponent. This happened to Liz Cheney, and he has done it to others. The only “safe” Republicans are in thoroughly beet red districts, or those nearing retirement. Even then they rarely buck the president’s worst inclinations. 2. I concede that his interpersonal relationships are non existing. I wish those on the receiving end of false accusations, rumors and public shame all the best and hope they find justice and appropriate recompense. Evidence for this is so overwhelming even the staunchest supporters freely admit they wish Groper would stop attacking people—that his fragile ego is his greatest weakness (and one readily exploited by our enemies). I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t readily concede that. 3. That is a strong statement and I hope you can clarify it succinctly and with clear and irrefutable proof. Not links to media, but a well reasoned and cohesive argument that can be debated and tested for validity. He double booked Maralago memberships to foreign nationals. The club fee was $100,000 prior to his first run, doubling to $200,000 after he won election. The fee is now $1 million. (As reported by The Guardian). He accepted a $10 million bribe from Egypt even before SCOTUS made bribery of public officials perfectly legal. He rented overpriced hotel rooms to Saudis and others which were never used—though some ostensibly may have been used by veterans. Why foreign governments rent rooms for US veterans, disabled or not, is never explained. 4. Even presidents and ex-presidents are not immune to criminal justice procedures. It may take time but eventually such corruption will be exposed. Please share your clairvoyant insights that predicts and connects these corrupt acts to the rewards allegedly involved. In South Africa we have been litigating against ex-president Jacob Zuma for years with little progress so far, but high hopes for success in the future. No clairvoyance is required. That word is dismissive, expressing doubt or disdain. I mentioned the $1.5 billion hotel and golf resort deal—easy to confirm. Boeing also won scraps, as did Lockheed. Apple ponied up funds to exempt Chinese mad iPhones, computer components, and so on. $Strumpet meme coin allows foreign investors to contribute directly to Groper’s pocket, not simply to his campaign. One Chinese cryptocurrency investor enjoyed having DOJ investigations cancelled thanks to his generous donation. While you argue blockchain transactions leave trails, we have no real way of ensuring other foreign nationals or governments aren’t buying concessions. An “honest” politician is one who stays bought. Groper could sell a concession to one party, then sell the opposite to a competing concern. Before Putin’s evil, unprovoked invasion and wholesale murder of innocent Ukrainians, his wealth exceeded that of Elon. Some estimated Putler at half a billion. The Biden sanctions eroded much of that, with significant sums simply confiscated. Trump is returning that money, cancelling the sanctions, and doing his best to help Putler complete his conquest. Look at the peace deal. Putler gets to keep Crimea, the seized territories, and additional territory to secure the stolen land. Ukraine gets to acknowledge Russia’s superiority and rightful claim to all stolen lands, must sacrifice any hope of NATO membership or closer EU ties, and must be willing to surrender the rest of their sovereignty as soon as Putin can renew aggression and execute all current Ukrainian leadership and destroy all Ukrainian cultural heritage. Win win, right? A FAIR compromise would be Russia withdraws all troops, restores Crimea to Ukraine, pays half a trillion (Putin’s prewar personal wealth) in retribution, and surrenders Putin naked except for handcuffs to run a barefoot, broken glass Kyiv street gauntlet.
lord_shiva 16-May-25, 16:33	Episcopal Church Opposes SA Refugees Citing Moral Issues Quote: In a striking move that ends a nearly four-decades-old relationship between the federal government and the Episcopal Church, the denomination announced on Monday that it is terminating its partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been classified as refugees by President Trump's administration. www.npr.org
bobspringett 16-May-25, 22:16	Shiva 16:33 Are you surprised? Trump has halted almost ALL refugee intakes, EXCEPT for a select subset of whites who (statistically-speaking) are predominantly right-wing and historically supported Apartheid. Meanwhile real refugees are being left out to rot. But most worrying is the increasing tendency of this Administration to simply ignore the courts. In some cases they don't even put up anything more than a bare case; why bother when you know your case is blatantly illegal? So instead, just don't comply. This is the latest modus operandi for a President who is a convicted felon in criminal charges that require unanimity in a jury trial, who has also been found to have committed sexual assault in a civil case, has ordered deportations without due process in administrative actions, and simply refuses to act when ordered to do so by courts. And yet this guy claims to be a 'Law and Order President'. America, this is who you voted for! And not just a few percent of your worst, but he actually won the popular vote last time around. No wonder that the number of illegal immigrants has dropped. Who would see America as anything better than 'not the worst possible option'?
apatzer 17-May-25, 15:54	Well said!!!
riaannieman 23-May-25, 03:04	bobspringett; 16-May-25, 22:16 "...EXCEPT for a select subset of whites who (statistically-speaking) are predominantly right-wing and historically supported Apartheid..." Yes that is probably true to some extent but I should be careful to label all 49 of them that way. If I had time I could look into the bunch of them and see if any of them feature on our right-wing sonars. What does astonish me is that the real right wingers, who are well known, are still here and giving no indication of grabbing the opportunity. One of them lives just a few miles from me. Another lives right next to the archery range I often visit. They are firmly embedded here. Actually I edited the post to remove the names. They were in there but it is probably wise not to mention them by name.
lord_shiva 23-May-25, 04:18	White Genocide www.youtube.com www.youtube.com Vids speak for themselves, as does Groper who recites falsehoods as typical.
lord_shiva 24-May-25, 09:55	President Cyril Ramaphosa Bests Groper “I’m sorry I do not have a plane to give you.” While not nearly as shameful as the Zelensky display, Groper again embarrassed our nation attacking President Ramaphosa. I’m just happy Cyril fared much better. www.bbc.com
lord_shiva 24-May-25, 10:04	Real Leader Confronts Babbling Moron “Praised by many for remaining composed and reconciliatory in the face of an exercised Trump, while also criticised by some for not responding more forcefully to Tump's accusations, reality awaits Ramaphosa back in South Africa where he and his African National Congress (ANC) face pressures on multiple fronts.” I thought President Ramaphosa handled our idiot baboon very well.
bobspringett 24-May-25, 15:04	Riaan Wise, not to give names of private persons. I don't like such practices, because there are idiots on both sides of any political question.
riaannieman 25-May-25, 05:29	Those names are well known, one of them served a prison sentence before in connection with sabotage and subversion, the other was allegedly involved in abducting a prominent businessman and feeding him to the crocodiles in the Kunene River, on the Angola side of the river.
lord_shiva 25-May-25, 09:46	Kunene That isn’t anywhere near the Oliphant or the Limpopo, right? Oh, Rio Cunene, over on the west side. There was a pair of British botanists fed to crocodiles about seven years ago. Different case, I guess. Christian Shamwaamba wasn’t the victim—he was apparently murdered by police officers. But not South African police. Hard to find any info on these incidents. Our news is apparently heavily censored.
riaannieman 29-May-25, 03:32	No the Kunene river is one of the northern borders between Namibia and Angola. As a child I swam in those waters- my dad was a journalist in Windhoek, Namibia, and traveled a lot. Sometimes he would take my brother and I with him. The Kunene is very far from the Limpopo and the Elephant rivers. Opposite sides of the continent, and several countries in between.
riaannieman 28-Jun-25, 04:24	MSAGA Make South Africa Great Again. I wish it to be true. But to do that, some core functions of the republic must executed faultlessly and with the best of integrity. Allow me to copy an extract of a personal mail to a friend in Canada. I am elated, and at the same time a little embarrassed, because this is happening in my immediate environment. I have great, if embarrassing news. Now that I think about it I have nothing to be embarrassed about, though, as I have always been vocal against the corruption and criminality I know was happening. In short, almost the entire command structure of my division, Crime Intelligence, has been arrested. Conspicuously the leadership of my component, Counter Intelligence, has not been arrested! Let me quickly explain the structure of my division: Overall we are called Division Crime Intelligence. Within Crime Intelligence there are several components: Secret Services Account (the slush fund); Information Analyses Center (the analysts); Technical Management Services (the spooks with the bugs and location devices); HR; my component Counter Intelligence, and a few more. So at last the boil has been lanced, and I believe and hope that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that the rest will be exposed at last. Easiest will be to post a lot of links and et you read it yourself, but in essence story is as follows: General Lushaba had his laptop and firearm stolen during August 2022. Instead of following due process, he used his influence to wipe the issue under the carpet and in the process had a upstanding police officer suspended for doing his work correctly. One of the people who helped him do this was Colonel Eugene Pitout, against whom I had personal issues myself. I have long called him a snake and liar. This bomb eventually burst two weeks ago and Lushaba, Pitout and others were arrested for corruption. However, none of this could have happened without the knowledge and a nod from the Divisional Commissioner, general Khumalo. On Thursday the rest of the bomb burst when Khumalo and six others were arrested for corruption as well. Lushaba was arrested for the second time. Now I have long maintained that Khumalo and most of the other leadership are corrupt, actively practiced nepotism, were involved in a sex ring and smuggled drugs and firearms in undercover police vehicles. I also suspect that they committed murder to silence witnesses, but I cannot claim good knowledge about that. It is just a suspicion, as several witnesses are missing or dead. OK, that is an abbreviated version of the sequence of events, and I am elated! I hope my division and component will be cleaned up now. Here are the links, in as best chronological order as I can manage. It makes for a great story: www.youtube.com (Only watch from 3 hours 7 minutes to 3 hours 9 minutes, or you will sit through over 5 hours) I do not know how to extract that part of the session. www.news24.com www.youtube.com vm.tiktok.com I totally agree with Mr. O’Sulliuvan, a person for whom I have much respect. We cannot investigate ourselves when we are so corrupt from the inside.
lord_shiva 28-Jun-25, 07:00	Except Philani Lushaba They all are free on bail. www.parliament.gov.za
thumper 28-Jun-25, 07:09	Riaan I'm sure you're well aware of this but make sure to protect your family and yourself. It's easy to be disappeared so an effective defense and exit strategy is a good thing. If it gets to that point you have a landing zone here.
riaannieman 28-Jun-25, 07:09	Yes, it was Lushaba's second arrest for corruption within two weeks, no bail the second time around. Given the amounts of money stolen, bail of ZAR 10 000-00 is ridiculously low. Even I can pay that from my credit card in a jiffy. I expect some more arrests within weeks. Now the fall-guys are going to be arrested, but I hope the cases will be proven against the real criminals. People who know my division call us the biggest crime syndicate in the country.
riaannieman 28-Jun-25, 07:16	@thumper Thank you for the offer. I believe I am good- as a mere captain I am too low down the food chain, I have never succumbed to such temptations, and my only sin is being vocal in opposition to it. I should be fine. Besides, I am not scared of the goons in the shadows, I dare any of them to come get me: I am still much better trained than they are. I have done my training old school and long ago, long before this watered down version they call training these days. I may be old, but I have much experience. It will be an expensive exercise to get me. I have seen recruits going in training overweight, and coming out even fatter. I know the bodyguards they have around them- mere boys, obviously under trained but with great ego's and attitude. They blunder and bluster about with only the authority of the corrupt generals to support them. They have seen too many Marines and SEALS movies and try to emulate actors on screen.
thumper 28-Jun-25, 08:29	Deleted by thumper on 28-Jun-25, 08:32.
thumper 28-Jun-25, 08:32	Riaan In any case the door is open. As for your younglings living vicariously through others, so prevalent today, is a fools game destined to fail. I took my training seriously and gained 30 pounds of muscle and serious tactical ability during my Marine Corp and later Air Force career. Think Steve Rodgers turned to Captain America. Our focus beyond the physical and tactical expertise was honor, duty, loyalty and integrity. Without that foundation the rest is just noise.
bobspringett 28-Jun-25, 14:29	Riaan Be careful, mate! Even an idiot can hire a hit-man.
thumper 28-Jun-25, 16:18	Riaan I believe I may have mentioned this to you already but... I met a SA couple on vacation some years back at a gun club in Smokey Point, WA of all places. We were qualifying for our IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) rankings and ended up hanging out together. "Hey honey I have an idea, while we're on vacation let's go to the range and get IDPA qualified." Such a romantic.   They were the nicest couple you could hope to meet. A great positive example to us all, both with a ready smile and clever wit. As it turns out he was a SA law enforcement officer and I got the impression that she too was a LEO. We exchanged contact info but sadly I lost it over the years. I sometimes think of them and wonder how life goes for them. He qualified just ahead of me as Expert with her just behind us as a top Sharpshooter (just shy of Expert). One thing I'm confident of is that anyone who decides to attack either of them is in extreme personal danger.
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