[SEL] Spam> Spam/Phish> test...now 33...OT

[Jerry Evans]

>Hi Guys,
         This is totally off topic but the list has been terribly quiet 
just lately - good to see some activity even if it is not engine related - 
at least we have a lot of members communicating. I was beginning to think 
that the list was going through it's "death throes" - good to see there are 
still people reading it (and responding). (Hey - we did not have too much 
"cabin fever" coming over he list this year - what happened - did you 
northern hemisphere guys have a mild winter?").

         My "tuppence ha'pennies" (I'm not sure what that is in US$) worth 
follows. I'm going to try my best not to be "racist" and apologise up front 
to any members who may think differently about my views. My only defence is 
"Do not criticize if you have not been there!".

         I'm not responding to any one particular "post" here. There have 
been so many posts on this subject (and most of you did not "snip" your 
replies so I just skimmed through them).

         I live in South Africa and as most of you know we have a pretty 
bad history, what with Apartheid and the like. We are now a "democratic" 
(note the quotes) country ruled by the vote of the mostly tribal majority.

         If any of you know the history of South Africa you will know that 
the greatest "General" that the indigenous people had was "Chaka" (a.k.a. 
"Shaka" or "Shaka Zulu"). He ruled with an iron fist and his word was law. 
Anyone who disagreed with him in any way was quickly despatched to join his 
forefathers with an "assegai" (short stabbing spear) applied through the 
rib cage directly to the heart or thereabouts. There were no "trials", 
"magistrates", "hearings", "court cases" or "lawbooks". Violence ruled and 
no one dared to question the leaders authority.
         Not much has changed - our elections (although usually reported by 
the press as being "free and fair") are usually preceded by much violence 
and intimidation in the "townships"
("townships" are best explained as the areas occupied by the previously 
disadvantaged citizens of this country). The majority of people are not 
given the chance to decide for themselves who to vote for. They live in 
constant fear of being killed if they do not vote for the correct party (as 
in disagreeing with Chaka - assegai to the heart or similar - assegai's 
have now been replaced with AK-47's or Makarov pistols - strange that both 
these weapons originate from the former Soviet Bloc). They do not realise 
that the "ballot form" they make their mark on cannot be traced to an 
individual - at least that part of the voting process is still sacred.

         Our elections are also usually preceded by an increase in the 
number of "armed hijackings", "armed heists" and "armed bank robberies" 
usually employing (again) AK-47's and Makarov pistols which are never 
solved or brought to court. The question has to be asked "Where is the 
money for the election advertising coming from?"

         O.K. I'll try to get back on track now. AK-47's and Makarov 
pistols were never legally imported into this country. Our previous 
government were very "anti-communist" and did not do business with the 
Soviet Bloc. Also, our previous laws (and they still hold good today) did 
not allow the private ownership of automatic or semi-automatic weapons. It 
then goes without saying that these weapons are "illegal". Does that bother 
the criminals ?

         Gun control is now being exerted upon us normal citizens who would 
just like to have a gun (either a rifle or a hand gun for self protection 
or even for hunting) but this right is being taken away from us. Our 
government loves to hide behind the excuse that they are just following 
world trends (and the USA features greatly in this one).

         Licensed weapons are NOT used to commit crime - it is the 
unlicensed weapons used by criminals that are used. If anyone thinks that 
Gun Control Laws will put an end to this then they need their "heads to be 
read" - (sorry - that's a South African saying - it means that "you are 
stupid, naive or sick" - just in case you did not understand).

         Our Police force members are even scared to use their guns these 
days as, if they happen to kill a criminal who is pointing a gun at them 
they could be charged with murder and will really battle to prove their 
innocence. The law protects the criminal.

         I was attacked in my home at 7:45 am one morning and myself and my 
son (19 at the time) were stabbed by a criminal wielding a dagger and a 
"panga" ("machete", "bushknife"). I was stabbed in the arms, chest and head 
and my son was chopped on the wrist (put his arm up to defend himself) with 
the panga and also stabbed with the dagger in various places including the 
face and arms. We were lucky - I grabbed the perp., actually the blades of 
his knives, as they were the best points of leverage, and ended up in a 
wrestling match with him, he was much younger and stronger than me and I 
would have lost the battle had my son not had the presence of mind to rush 
off to his room and get his revolver. He shot the criminal dead - had this 
not happened I would not have been a member of this list today. We were 
very lucky (that happened in December 1996) because: 1) the new laws were 
only being promulgated then and, 2) the criminal was only armed with knives 
- today they carry "unlicensed guns" and do not hesitate to use them!

         Some of you may use the old story that he was only armed with 
knives and we brought a gun into the equation - but the gun saved my life 
and probably my son's a well. I've never used a gun to commit a crime - I 
consider myself to be a responsible gun owner but do feel that I need one 
for my own protection - especially in this country where our violent crime 
statistics rate the highest in the world and legally licensed guns never 
feature in violent crime. Yet our government is trying to take our legal 
weapons away from us - is this to give the criminals a better chance to get 
rid of us ?

         If the above  had happened today, I might have been sitting in 
jail for murdering a poor petty criminal whose only intention was to break 
into my house, relieve me of all my valuable possessions (which I had spent 
half a lifetime working for) and kill me in the process if necessary.

         You guys overseas probably never see news articles on crime in 
this country - why - because our government does their level best to hide 
them. Our police force used to have an excellent record for solving crimes 
- the present police force (and I apologise to the few dedicated police 
officers who are really trying to make a difference) just does not seem to 
care about solving crime - they are more interested in "going on strike" 
for better working conditions, housing and higher wages etc. (I do agree 
that they are "under funded" but that all comes back to our governments 
attitude that "crime is not a problem").

         We had a case in December where a world renowned Historian in Kwa 
Zulu Natal was murdered by "petty" robbers in his home - that case was 
solved and the criminals prosecuted and sentenced within a month - Why - 
because he was "world renowned" - a friend of Prince Charles and many other 
world figures. The government needed to be seen as "law abiding" in the 
eyes of the world and got off their backsides and made things happen.

         An acquaintance of mine (not world renowned - lived next door to 
my girlfriend) was murdered by robbers in his home in January (about 10 
miles from me) - he arrived home from work one afternoon and as he opened 
his door his head was smashed in with a hammer by the criminals waiting 
inside his house - he was never given a chance to hand over his money or 
anything else - he was just murdered for the joy of it - this crime will 
probably never be solved - Why - because the rest of the world will 
probably never hear about it !! He was a lay preacher and had a chapel 
built on his property and was  considered by all who knew him as a 
humanitarian , always ready to help anyone in distress irrespective of 
their skin colour. He was also a slightly built person - not he kind of 
person able to "put up a fight". The criminals are cowards and usually go 
for soft targets like him or old retired couples. (His neice died of a 
heart attack when given the news of his murder)

         (If you do not believe me do a "google" for "farm murders" "south 
africa" - you may be shocked)

Why does all this happen - Because all the "do gooders" in the western 
world think that we are dealing with people just like them - people with 
the same values as them but just have a different skin colour - people who 
are sane and able to make up their own minds - has'nt the story of Africa 
over the last 40 years opened their eyes?

         I could go on for hours more but this is an "engine list" and I 
apologise once again for putting you guys through this.

         To all those countries facing "gun control" laws brought on by "do 
gooders" who have no clue as to what this modern world is all about I would 
just ask you to fight against those laws - they will only leave you and 
your families defenceless against the bad guys. Why the hell can 
governments not realise that criminals do not obey laws anyway. Much better 
if they allow a "shoot to kill" law against criminals. It would save the 
taxpayer millions in court fees - luxury accommodation (todays jails) and 
make life so much better for all us citizens who put the damn government 
there in the first place.

         Once again I am going to apologise to any list members who find 
this post to be offensive - I will not reply to any posts that try to 
condemn it. If you want to reply to me then spare the list and write 
directly to me "off list" I promise to reply to all those who do so but 
will not get involved in any political  discussions with people who have no 
experience with our situation. I do not like politics.

         As I said before "Do not criticize if you have not been there!". 
I've been there - done that and bought the "T" shirt - and I am living the 
experience.

         O.K. anyone got any engine related stuff to talk about - Patrick 
Livingstone in Aus - thanks for the good pics (as always).

Keep the revs up (or down)
Jerry Evans
Near Johannesburg in Sunny South Africa.
Tel. (016) 365-5787
Intntl.: +2716 365-5787
Cell: 083 293 7191
Visit our website for old engines in South Africa.
www.oldengine.org/members/evans