Biter Bit

Scorpion Gerrie Nel was arrested by police at his home on Tuesday evening, his house searched and his bail set in court at R10,000. Mokotedi Mpshe the acting boss Scorpion was heard complaining about the “Hollywood” style of arrest, but expressed no regrets about the possibility that his staff may be guilty of crimes. The newspapers have been running with the Scorpions, blatantly favouring their version of the story. The papers have refrained from pointing out that it was the Scorpions who practised “Hollywood” methods all these years. At least in Nel’s case he was taken to court and charged, and not left to dangle.

This is where we see that the courts are indeed vital. The courts we need, and we need one police force, and not two police forces that are fighting each other.

Otherwise there were relatively few releases yesterday. The first linked item gives some background on the members of the newly-elected ANC National Working Committee (NWC).

The next linked item is the lead from yesterday’s Business Report, corroborating the SACP’s media release on the phoney Household Survey statistics.

The third linked item is a good description of the impact and the use made of “Emeritus” (representing his jacket) Desmond Tutu in Nairobi, Kenya, and idiot useful to some. Or perhaps not an idiot, but a schemer.

On 18th January the Chris Hani Institute (CHI) is to host the historically anti-SACP intellectual Martin Legassick, relegating SACP Deputy General Secretary Jeremy Cronin,very politely, to the role of “respondent”. That will be on the 10th floor of COSATU House from 10h30. See the linked flier. As usual the quality of the event will depend upon the quality of the contributions from the floor – Communist University students please note this chance to practice.

The Coming Events section is still there and in full force. Please click on that link and write the events into your new 2008 diaries!

Click on these links:

ANC elects working committee, SAPA, The Times (520 words)

Stats SA credibility under fire, Ethel Hazelhurst, Business Report (563 words)

Why Tutu was a godsend for Kibaki, David Anderson, Business Day (975 words)

Joe Slovo Lecture, Prospects for Socialism, 18 January 2008, CHI (flyer)

Coming Events