South Africa = Zimbabwe: Update

Your Savant came under heavy attack for forecasting that South Africa will go the way of Zimbabwe. But all the ingredients are there, most notably the disconnect in the African mentality between production and consumption. Like the cargo cults in the Pacific, Africans tend to see the good things in life as something to be acquired, without the bothersome distraction of actually producing them.

So it's little surprise then when we learn from that country's main Sunday newspaper that thousands of white doctors are being rejected for medical posts (the posts thus remaining unfilled), and then emigrating - hopefully many come to Ireland. As a result the standard of medical services, especially in the public sphere, has plummeted.

An even more interesting example concerns that of the University of KwaZulu Natal which once had a high international ranking. This has now plummeted to joke status, easily understood when you consider the vice-chancellor, one William Makgoba. He has described whites (who make up about 90% of faculty staff) as 'superannuated apes', and recommends that they eat, speak and dress like Africans. The same Bill has adopted the Oxford-inspired academic ritual of greasing himself every morning in lion fat to help him confront his opponents.

Still think the Zimbabwe analogy to be over the top?

Grave torture

Islam Watch tells us how the angel Gabriel escorted Mohammed through a marvellous sight-seeing tour to some important landmarks of the universe like Hell and Paradise, as well as meeting with all the previous Prophets, and then meeting with Allah himself. Imagine that! During that meeting, Mohammed used his influence to make Allah change his mind and reduce the number of obligatory daily prayers from fifty to only five. The unbelievers take this incidence out of context as it indirectly suggests that Mohammed had more wisdom than Allah himself. How dare they! With hindsight, we know that Allah was unrealistic in his initial demand for fifty prayers, which would leave Muslims with no time to do anything else, not even to murder apostates like Salma Rushdie.

However, Mohammed seems to think that Allah cannot wait all this time until the judgment day to start torturing his creatures. To avoid this boredom, Mohammed told his followers that Allah started the fun already in what is known as the ‘grave’s torture’. As a welcome to new comers, two angels make a visit to the graves of Muslims who had just died. These angels then torture the dead person in the darkness of their graves.

Mohammed did not give an explanation about the reasons behind such a rude reception, or the reason in torturing people before their trial. However, the good news here is that the grave’s torture will be automatically deducted from the final torture bill to be paid in hell. Who knows? It may work out better this way, besides it helps to introduce Muslims slowly and ‘gently’ to the new life-style of constant Islamic torture.

The above description of practicing Islam may look like a comic story. The sad news is that it is not. This is an absolute reality and all Muslims are aware of it, and they live in permanent fear because of it. This fear explains why Muslims work hard to reduce their ‘grave-torture’ and shorten their stay in hell to the possible minimum.

Muslims also know another secret about Islam. They know of the only way to avoid all the above nightmare altogether, with no worry about the grave torture or ever seeing hell at all. This is a sure-footed method—become a martyr! That is true because according to Islam, martyrs are not dead at all. They join the fast lane straight to paradise (just like prophets) regardless of their sins or the state of their hasanat/ sayaat account balance (Q, 2.154, Q.3.169- 170).


Does anyone still wonders why so many Muslims want to become suicide bombers?

Mission Accomplished in Iraq

Who Said...?

"I'm getting so old that when I dine out they ask for the money up front"

A: Woody Allen

Elect a new people

Professor Robert Putnam, author of the phenomenally successful Bowling Alone, who also coined the phrase 'social capita'l, is the high priest of social diversity. At least he was until the results of his massive research project on 'diversity' came in. Bob undertook the research to prove how happy-clappy multiculturalism created social capital, you see.


Sadly for Bob, the results, as anyone other than a Sociology professor could have told him, were the exact opposite. The research reveals that immigration and diversity not only reduce social capital between ethnic groups, but also within the groups themselves. Trust, even for members of one’s own race, is lower, altruism and community cooperation rarer, friendships fewer.

In the 41 sites Putnam studied in the U.S., he found that the more diverse the neighborhood, the less residents trust neighbors. This proved true in communities large and small, from big cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Boston to tiny Yakima, Washington, rural South Dakota, and the mountains of West Virginia. In racially and ethnically mixed communities, not only do people not trust strangers, they do not even trust their own kind. They withdraw into themselves, they support community activity less, they vote less.

"People living in ethnically diverse settings appear to 'hunker down,' that is, to pull in like a turtle," writes Putnam. They tend to "withdraw even from close friends, to expect the worst from their community and its leaders, to volunteer less, give less to charity and work on community projects less often, to register to vote less, to agitate for social reform more but have less faith they can actually make a difference, and to huddle unhappily in front of the television."

Scandalously, and in flagrant defiance of the norms of peer-reviewed research, Putnam withheld the research until he could ‘develop proposals to compensate for the negative effects of diversity. He is quoted as fearing – fearing, mind you - that his work on the surprisingly negative effects of diversity will become part of the immigration debate.’ I see, if it gives the wrong result, keep it quiet. Is it an wonder we’re in the mess we are?

Putnam adds a crushing footnote: his findings “may underestimate the real effect of diversity on social withdrawal.”

Now if that’s the case in the US, where immigrants are carefully screened prior to admission, what must it be like in Europe, where vast numbers of poorly educated Africans and Muslims make up the bulk of immigrants?

Church defends revenue base

Ireland’s Primate (I thought a primate was a large ape?) Archbishop Sean Brady is not happy, as he sees the New Ireland erode his revenue base. Fighting for market share, he derides horoscopes, tarot cards, astrology, palm reading as the ‘new Irish superstitions’.

Presumably to distinguish them from the old Irish superstitions, like Sean’s brand. In the old superstition we believed that a man was born without a human father, that this man went on to raise the dead, walk on water, turn water into wine, rose from the dead himself, and then ascended bodily into heaven to meet his Godly father – er, who also happens to be himself. I can understand why this makes perfect sense to you, Sean.

And apparently, numerous public opinion polls to the contrary, we’re not really happy. We just think we are, like. What we need to make us happy is to have the Church back in control, raping children and fleecing an ignorant populace.

Well Sean, old hand, I got bad news for you. As Ireland’s educational levels continue to soar, your revenue base will continue to decline. Because, like a vampire recoils before the dawn, religion recoils before knowledge and reason.

You’re doomed – my tarot reader told me.

(See also Savant's interview with Cardinal Connell here. )

Best sellers

Who said?

"To whom much is given, much is owed"

A: G.W. Bush - the fucker told the truth for once, even if it was by mistake

Scotland the brave - my ass

This from Scotland's Daily Record: Two Scottish NHS trusts have decided all their staff should be banned from eating at their desks during next month's Ramadan when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. They will also be removing the vending machines and lunch trollies from their hospitals during the 30-day period.

As far as I know, all female members of staff have not been ordered to wear the veil. Well, not yet anyway.

But, if NHS Lothian and Greater Glasgow must go ahead, how about a little consistency? No one is allowed to eat chocolate during Lent for Catholics and Anglicans who're temporarily giving it up, no ham at any time, lest it offends any Jews and, indeed, vegetarianism imposed on everyone because of the Bhuddists. Nor will there be medical cover or food at all on the Sabbath, just in case there's a Wee Free around. And, naturally, there'll be no more blood transfusions ever because that would upset the Plymouth Brethren. Ridiculous. Yup. But this isn't the first time Scotland has prostrated itself (check this).

But then the Wee Frees, bad and all as they are, aren't going to blow you up if they get pissed off. And maybe this is what's behind it.Maybe they're afraid that if they piss off the medical staff some more of them might take direct action like they took at Glasgow Airport recently.

Turd Blossom resigns

With great sadness we learn that Carl Rove, a.k.a Bush's Brain and Turd Blossom, has resigned to have 'more time with the family'. Isn't that lovely?