17 replies to this topic

[Painnsufferin]

psyche101, on 17 August 2012 - 04:43 AM, said:

How did the cradle of humanity end up being so behind and violent?

That is where humanity came from, violence comes with being human.

[Hilander]

I've been reading about the violence in South Africa.  Those miners have been hacking up cops and other people with those machetes.  SA is the most unionized place in the world and their unions are pretty violent.  Can't really blame the cops for shooting them.

I think the miners need better treatment and wages but this isn't going to get it for them.

[questionmark]

in related news:

The Telegraph said:

Striking South African miners 'were shot in the back'

Striking miners shot dead by police at South Africa's Lonmin mine were reportedly hit in the back suggesting they were fleeing rather than attacking.


Post-mortem examinations revealed that most of the 34 victims of the police action on August 16 were shot in the back while a smaller number were shot while facing forward, Johannesburg's Star newspaper reported citing sources close to the investigation.


If proved correct, the leaked results could contradict police claims that they only opened fire after being fired upon.

Those working to keep the peace in the northwestern town of Marikana, where the Lonmin platinum mine is situated, said they feared that the report could inflame tensions further in the still febrile atmosphere.

Read more

... it looks like miners attack the police running backwards in South Africa....

[and then]

Or the police just opened fire as a group and didn't stop until someone needed to reload.  A message was being sent here.  I think the miners got it.  I don't know if Lonmin is publicly held but if it is then anyone who owns stock is responsible.  Anyone who does business with them in any way is responsible.  Those miners are treated like slaves and it's a damned disgrace.

[Render]

Lonmin miners in South Africa 'to go back to work'

Quote

Striking miners at a Lonmin-owned platinum mine in South Africa have agreed to return to work on Thursday, mediators and reports say.
Miners cheered when they were told of a proposed 22% pay rise, a witness told Reuters news agency.
But South Africa's labour dispute body told the BBC it was waiting to hear if the latest pay offer had been accepted.
Last month, police opened fire on demonstrators at the mine in Marikana, killing 34 striking workers.
Production at the mine has been paralysed for weeks and unrest has spread to other mines.

'Mission accomplished'

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration told the BBC a delegation of workers representatives had gone to inform the striking miners of the latest offer on Tuesday afternoon.
The workers, most of who are rock drill operators, gathered to hear the address at a football pitch near the Marikana mine in Rustenburg, which is the centre of platinum mining in South Africa - about 80km (50 mile) north-east of Johannesburg.
They have been demanding a salary of 12,500 rand ($1,513; £935) - they currently earn between 4,000 and 5,000 rand.
"What has happened here has been a victory really for the workers, and they're going to work on Thursday morning," AFP news agency quotes mediator Johannes Seoka, the Bishop of Pretoria, as saying.
One worker held up a hand with the phrase "mission accomplished" written in black ink, AP news reported.
Bishop Seoka, from the South African Council of Churches, told the BBC there would also be a one-off payment of 2,000 rand to help cover the weeks of not being paid while they were on strike.
He refused to give any further details of the offer and said he was going back to the Lonmin management to finalise the deal on Tuesday night.
On Monday, President Jacob Zuma said that the disruption had cost the industry $548m in lost output.
He has ordered a judicial inquiry into what has become known as the "Marikana massacre" - the most deadly police action since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Meanwhile, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) says it has re-opened its mines and expects them to be in fully working by Wednesday.
The world's largest platinum producer suspended its operations last week after thousands of people protested outside one of its Rustenburg mines.
The BBC's Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says there is a risk that the deal could trigger new turmoil in other mines - given the Lonmin action was an illegal strike that involved serious intimidation.
But there is also hope that, at least in the short term, the crisis that has spread through parts of South Africa's mining sector may be coming to an end, he says.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...africa-19641510

YES!!!