” Surveillance footage used to solve crimes usually comes from a stationary camera, perhaps mounted in the corner of a gas station, a shopping center, or an ATM. But even security cams have now gone mobile, as evidenced in a new YouTube clip filmed with a GoPro.
Last Saturday, Malcolm Fox was finishing up a bike ride at Sir Lowry’s Pass in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Fox fitted himself with a GoPro helmet for the trek. As the cyclist crossed a set of train tracks, he looked up and saw a man armed with a gun approach him.
Fox immediately stopped, got off the bike, and raised both hands in the air. According to Fox, two accomplices then joined the suspect. The biker was cooperative, not putting up a fight as the robbers took his sunglasses, car keys, cellphone, and bike.
They left Fox with just his helmet, with the GoPro camera still mounted to it and recording.”
” Researchers in South Africa were recently able to capture amazing footage of a tigerfish leaping out of the water and snatching a bird in flight. This is thought to be the first evidence of a freshwater fish “catching birds on the wing,” the BBC says. “
Be sure and click the link to see a short Smithsonian video about the vicious Tigerfish .
” This is the first photograph of the British teacher and her fiance whose car was flipped over by an enraged bull elephant while they were on safari in Africa.
Sarah Brooks, 30, and her fiance Jans de Klerk were filming the animal from their car as it drank at a waterhole when it turned and went for them.
The elephant’s tusk ripped through Miss Brooks’ upper thigh during the attack at the Kruger National Park in South Africa, and she had to be airlifted to hospital and required an emergency operation to save her leg.”
” Whether or not Nelson Mandela was emblematic of the new South Africa, his memorial service certainly was. Thamsanqa Jantjie, the lovable laugh-a-minute sign-language fraud who stood alongside President Obama gesticulating meaninglessly to the delight of all, was exposed in the days that followed as a far darker character. A violent schizophrenic charged over the years with burglary, rape, kidnapping, and murder, he was also a member of a “necklacing” gang — necklacing being the practice of placing a gasoline-filled tire over the head of the victim and setting it alight.
Nevertheless, Mr. Jantjie was merely the ne plus ultra of the South African state’s shambolic security operation for the service. My fellow congregants at National Review have been arguing in recent weeks over whether Mandela was a great man (Deroy Murdock) or a Commie terrorist (Andrew McCarthy) or on balance a mild disappointment (Conrad Black). But beyond such assessments is the daily reality that a lot of things in South Africa simply don’t function anymore. As revealing as Mr. Jantjie’s extensive and violent criminal background is the fact that the National Prosecuting Authority cannot reliably state which offenses he has been convicted of, and, for the one crime for which he seems definitively to have been sentenced, whether in fact he served the sentence.”
Failure all around , as only Mr Steyn can point out .
” Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark took to Facebook Friday to explain to seemingly supportive residents why he will not lower the flag at the Sheriff’s Office for Mandela, despite Obama’s Dec. 5 Presidential Proclamation:
I usually don’t post political items, but today is different. I received this notification today, “As a mark of respect for the memory of Nelson Mandela, the President orders that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff effective immediately until sunset, December 9, 2013″
Nelson Mandela did great things for his country and was a brave man but he was not an AMERICAN!!! The flag should be lowered at our Embassy in S. Africa, but not here. Our flag is at half staff today for a Deputy in the low country who died going to help his fellow Deputy. He deserves the honor. I have ordered that the flag here at my office back up after tomorrow’s mourning of Pearl Harbor Day!
On Thursday, Obama took the rare step of ordering all American flags on government buildings lowered to half-staff until Monday, Dec. 9 in honor of the death of a foreign leader.
According to NPR, Obama did not issue the same proclamation upon the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. “
Our flag lowers for our people … this is not a transnationalist nation you globalist despot ! Much thanks to Sheriff Clark for doing what is right … and that is no diss for the late Pres. Mandela , God rest his soul .
If you would care to voice your thanks to Sheriff Clark for his principled stand you can contact his office here ; (864)898-5534 or perhaps the better choice is to email the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department’s comments page at : PCSO_MAIL@co.pickens.sc.us
If you are unaware of who Ms Bachman is and why she is a media sensation you can catch up by reading our previous post on her hunting escapades . She created a stink , or we should say a leftwing “greenie” created a stink about her by trying to get her banned from South Africa for the “crime” of legally hunting big game , among them , the king of beasts .
Ms Bachman committed the cardinal sin of publishing a picture of one of her kills on her Facebook page and for that she has been vilified by anti-hunters the world over . The offending photo can be seen below .
” Big-game hunter and “Winchester Deadly Passion” host Melissa Bachman has found herself the target of a merciless onslaught of negative comments by non-hunters for doing something perfectly legal.
Bachman’s trouble began when she posted a picture of herself with an African lion on her webpage and Facebook page. She wrote of the trophy pic, “An incredible day hunting in South Africa! Stalked inside 60-yards on this beautiful male lion. What a hunt!”
It didn’t take long for the enviro-nuts to ascend their soapbox in the form of a Change.org petition demanding Ms Bachmann be determined persona non grata in South Africa . As of now ( 11.18.13 17:52 EST ) there have been 184,359 signatories to Ms Burman’s petition . The odd thing about the petition , to us anyway as we are not familiar with Change.org ‘ s SOP , is the fact that the page is in Italian and after scrolling through at least a dozen pages of the comments from signers , it is apparent that the petitioners themselves are all Italian … Not a South African in sight .
” Burman’s petition reads in part: “She [Melissa Bachman] is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation, this country prides itself on. As tax payers we demand she no longer be granted access to this country and its natural resources.”
Here are some more photos of Ms Bachman on the hunt various prey courtesy of her Facebook page . Give her a like just to rub it in the enviro-weenies faces .
” Hunting at the Maroi Conservancy with an amazing PH, Julious Heyneke. If you’re looking to book an African Safari contact Julious at Julious.heyneke@yahoo.com or checkout http://www.maroiconservancy.co.za/ — with Julious Heyneke.”
If the do-gooders were upset about the vicious lion we suppose they’ll have a heart attack over the gentle , cute and lovable zebra . Have a look .
It makes no difference to these Earth-First types whether Ms Bachman is doing anything illegal or unethical , nor does it matter that large segments of Africa depend on controlled , regulated big game hunting as a major economic engine that spreads the wealth from the government all the way down the monetary ladder to the local tribesmen .
” Although Bachman has yet to respond to her critics, the place where he took the lion has. The Maroi Conservancy defended the hunt on its Facebook page stating: “We are not apologizing for facilitating the hunt. If you are not a game farmer and struggling with dying starving animals, poaching and no fences in place to protect your animals and crop, please refrain from making negative derogatory[sic] comments.” “
Just in case we haven’t stirred the pot long enough to cause the Birkenstock crowd to wet their collective panties , here’s a final shot that is sure to outrage … what with it’s echoes of that other famous female killer of beasts Sarah Palin , here is Melissa with her first trophy Alaskan Brown bear … wipe that spittle off your lips you …
Here for your viewing pleasure is a parting video of Melissa on an opening day whitetail hunt in Illinois .
Update:
In order to clarify for all , here are some regulations regarding hunting in South Africa along with a link to all you need to know to hunt the country including lions , rhino , cape buffalo , elephant and even giraffe .
” Seriously, you can shoot everything in this country, even species which have long disappeared from their home ranges in the north of Africa flourish on ranches in this country. If you’re not into sweating in extreme heat, wading muddy rivers, climbing frigid peaks or being bitten by flies and ticks then this is your hunting heaven. Likewise if you’re not the super wealthy type South Africa is also your country of choice.”
On lions in particular …
” Lion hunting in South Africa is a controversial issue right now although they are still being hunted in great numbers. Essentially 99 percent of the Lion shot in South Africa each year come from large scale breeding facilities which specialize in trophy cats. Naturally these beasts are pen raised and fed and then once of trophy size sold to various outfitters who introduce them onto open land where they can be shot. This type of shooting has been called canned hunting and if the truth be told, many unethical operators have simply shot the cats in their small enclosures. Prices tend to be more reasonable for these types of shoot and trophy quality is tremendous. This is essentially a shoot and should not be referred to as a hunt. The cats in these situations are often more aggressive and dangerous than their wild counterparts. In addition despite what the anti-hunting fraternity say, the consumptive use / shooting of these Lions do relieve the pressure on the wild lions in other countries. Read more about this issue….“
Here is a link to the general hunting rules for South Africa revised in 2008 and here is licensing information , a bit out of date (2008) but even 5 years ago the license fees were very expensive . Depending on which province you choose for your hunt you could pay upwards of $20,000 to hunt the protected Big Game that is so highly prized .
As the links amply demonstrate the hunting industry in South Africa is highly regulated and there is certainly no danger of a few Facebook photos from an American hunting celebrity opening the flood gates to unchecked mass slaughter of the nation’s fauna .
UPDATE: An astute reader sent us a link to probably the best defense of , #1) Melissa Bachman , 2) Maroi Conservancy , 3) Hunting in South Africa , 4) Hunting in general , and the overwhelmingly positive effect that hunting has on conservation . The writer has devoted a great deal of time to researching his post and he shows how , contrary to what the Birkenstock brigade would have you believe , hunters are the animal kingdom’s best friends , foremost conservationists and most effective stewards … period . Do yourself a favor and read it all .
When you’ve been stranded aboard a ship for the past year and a half, the sight of a small-fry quadcopter is nothing to take cover from. Just ask any of the 17 crew members confined to the E Whale, a hulking vessel that’s been at anchor off of Cape Town in legal limbo.
“In an area known as Pinnacles, south of Thunderbolt (which is on the wildside), what started as a fishing trip for a coupla yellowtail quickly turned into a heart-stopping moment for the guys.
Eugene had just speared two nice yellowtail, and then noticed that there were no ragged tooth sharks around. Something which is unusual for this area. He started was thinking “wonder why, maybe a big white around?” And as the saying goes, careful what you wish for.
Minutes later after surfacing from his dive, a great white passed right underneath him. A big female at least 5m long. She turned and came in very close, on then on her second approach Eugene had to push her away with his speargun! And get his legs out the way pretty pronto.
Whilst this was all happening Kyle had hightailed it the 30m swim back to the boat, jumped in, cut the anchor line and then reversed the boat back towards Eugene. Once they were both safely in the boat, the shark still circled them another 3 times.”
” An impala chased by two hungry cheetahs at the Kruger National Park in South Africa made good his escape by jumping into a car full of tourists through the window.
The animal appeared to have been cornered on two sides when it saved itself from death by using a human technological facility to his advantage.
A tourist named Samantha Pittendrigh, 20, was filming cheetahs chasing a group of leaping impalas streaking across the road when the amazing incident happened.”
” The creation myth of American wealth is almost always rooted in the entrepreneur.
It’s the two kids who start a computer company in their garage or dorm room. Or the former standup comic who creates form-shaping undergarments, or the South African immigrant who creates a new electric car and private space program.
But despite the high-profile examples, America may actually be falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to creating entrepreneurial wealth. A new study from Barclays, “Origins and Legacy: the Changing Order of Wealth Creation,” finds developing countries now lead the U.S. when comes to wealth creation by entrepreneurs.
So is America losing its entrepreneurial mojo? There is some evidence that entrepreneurial activity is flagging. The latest data from the Kauffman Foundation found that there were 514,000 new business owners a month in 2012, down from 543,000 in 2011. The 2012 numbers marked the lowest in five years.”
Another one for the Obama record books … killing the entrepreneurial spirit … all is proceeding as Alinsky planned .
” The White House Friday defended the first family’s upcoming weeklong trip to Africa, which could cost taxpayers up to $100 million, as “great bang for our buck.”
“There will be a great bang for our buck for being in Africa because when you travel to regions like Africa that don’t get a lot of presidential attention, you tend to have very longstanding and long-running impact from the visit,” said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to President Obama.
The excursion will involve military cargo planes airlifting 56 support vehicles, including 14 limousines, and three trucks to carry bulletproof glass panels to cover the windows where the first family is set to stay. A Navy aircraft carrier or amphibious ship with a fully staffed medical trauma center will be stationed offshore in case of an emergency.
Fighter jets will fly in shifts to provide around-the-clock protection over the president’s airspace. The trip will reportedly involve hundreds of Secret Service agents.”
” An unlikely bond has been formed among five baby animals. The mothers of three lions, a tiger, and a spotted hyena abandoned them — leaving them with a bleak chance of survival.
Thankfully for the cubs, Layla Cajee, the owner of Akwaaba Lodge in Rustenburg, South Africa, took them in at birth and has been raising them together ever since.
Five-month-old Bella, the tiger, is the leader of the pack. The three lions — Delano, Romeo, and Maximus, who are the same age as Bella — are all shy. Six-month-old Milika, the hyena, is the most mischievous in the bunch.”
” Irene van Niekerk is a 15-year-old runner who lives in a squatter camp near Pretoria, South Africa. She has won, in total, 27 gold medals, but owns no shoes.
Irene is a young Afrikaans girl who lives in a shack in a squatter camp near Pretoria, South Africa. They have no electricity or running water, and Irene owns no shoes.
She runs barefoot, because the shoes that were custom-designed for Irene were stolen by a drug addict. The shoes were custom-designed because Irene lost most of her toes in an accident as a child, when boiling water spilled on her feet.”
” Two Chinese tourists got the ultimate safari experience when an elephant overturned the vehicle they were driving through Kruger National Park in South Africa on Monday.
According to South Africa’s News 24, paramedics rushed to the park to assist the male driver, who incurred serious injuries and needed treatment at a local hospital, while the female passenger received only minor injuries.
“It is not yet clear why the elephant turned aggressive,” park spokesman William Mabasa said in a statement. “However we would like to appeal to the public to always be on the look-out for these huge animals and try not to get too close whenever they see one approaching on the road.” “
” Independent police investigators are looking into the claims after video footage emerged showing a man being dragged along a road behind a police van.
The man, a 27-year-old from Mozambique, was later found dead in a police cell in Daveyton, Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
Officers have claimed they put the taxi driver in a police van in order to take him to a police station on the East Rand, and cannot explain how he later died.
But the video, obtained by South Africa’s Daily Sun newspaper, shows officers struggling to overpower a man – believed to be the taxi driver – before attaching him to a point at the rear of their vehicle and then driving off leaving him hanging outside. Less..”
” A new report out of South Africa indicates that Oscar Pistorius carried Reeva Steenkamp downstairs from the bathroom where he had allegedly shot her, and attempted to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while attempting to save her life. The report comes via Beeld, an Afrikaaans-language newspaper in South Africa.
The newspaper reported that Steenkamp was still breathing when local security guards and neighbors arrived at Pistorius’ house, but died shortly afterward. She had been shot four times through the bathroom door. While the first reports indicated that Pistorius had believed he was firing at an intruder, more recent police reports have backed off that allegation.”
“Boaters often encounter pods of dolphins, even very large pods. But only rarely do they encounter “super pods,” which are formed when several dolphin sub groups gather as one, and few have captured this event as beautifully as photographer Chase Jarvis and explorer Mike Horn.”
YouViewed/Editorial 