Family Terrorised by Spontaneous Combusting Fires

A few days ago, News 24 published an article about a family from Pietermaritzburg that has been terrorised by instances of spontaneous combustion – the phenomenon where materials ignite without an external source of ignition.

Multiple fires have spontaneously broken out, destroying the family’s possessions and damaging their home. The fires have traumatised the families and puzzled local fire fighters.  The team of fire fighters from the uMgungundlovu stated that this was the first fire of its kind that they have witnessed.

Members of the family stated that in each instance, the fires began on mattresses in different bedrooms around the house. One thing is clear: these fires are definitely not normal.

After visiting the scene, Ward councillor Bonginkosi Shange stated: “One female fire-fighter just about wet herself when the fire started right in front of her eyes and said she had never seen anything like this.  Just this morning we have put out at least three different fires.”

Few members of the surrounding community are willing to take help the terrorised family because of the unexplained cause of the fires.

What do you think? Are these fires manmade? Are they a hoax? Are they a result of carelessness? Or are there other, more supernatural, forces at play.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

The Destruction of Our Heritage at Mapungubwe

Some disturbing news has recently surfaced around one of South Africa’s eight Heritage Sites, The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape which lies on the open savannah of the Mapungubwe National Park.

The South African Department of Mineral Resources has awarded an Australian mining company called Coal of Africa (CoAL) unconditional new order mining rights for the Mapungubwe area.

A stakeholder group consisting of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the Mapungubwe Action Group, the Office of the International Coordinator for the Greater Mapungubwe Trans-frontier Conservation Area (GMTFCA), the Endangered Wildlife Trust, the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists, World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa, BirdLife South Africa, the Wilderness Foundation South Africa and Peace Parks Foundation objects to all industrial activity in that part of the very sensitive Limpopo Valley without an approved Integrated Regional Development Plan. No replies by the relevant authorities have been received thus far.

Even before having obtained the necessary water license or any other kind of environmental approval, large-scale destruction is already underway on the bank of the Limpopo River, just a kilometre or two from Mapungubwe. CoAl has already cleared many hectares of indigenous forest in order to start building its controversial Vele coal mine on the bank of the Limpopo River.

Mapungubwe's famous gold-foil rhinoceros

Mapungubwe was home to an advanced culture of people. The civilization thrived as a sophisticated trading center from around 1200 to 1300 AD. It was the center of the largest kingdom in the sub-continent, where a highly sophisticated people traded gold and ivory with China, India, Persia and Egypt. According to the archaeology department at the University of the Witwatersrand, Mapungubwe represents “the most complex (historical) society in southern Africa”.

Gold was mined in haematite at Ngwenya, and iron ore and copper at Phalaborwa. Virtually all the copper and tin deposits of the Northern Transvaal were worked, and hundreds of workings remain.

Although the University of Pretoria excavated the site when it was discovered in 1932 it was kept top secret. The findings provided evidence contrary to the racist ideology of black inferiority that underpinned apartheid. The apartheid regime remained tight lipped for more than 40 years. The evidence was only made public a few years after the first democratically elected government came into power in 1994.

Additional gold artifacts found at Mapungubwe

The mine has the potential to bring all this to an end, threatening the World Heritage Site, the transfrontier conservation area and the tremendous tourism potential.

The presence of heavy industry in the area will impact enormously on its tourism and conservation, to such a degree that these activities will have to be reconsidered for the future. South Africa signed a binding document whereby it agreed to be a partner in a trilateral conservation development. By allowing that same conservation area to become part of an industrial area, it is not adhering to the spirit of that agreement.

To add insult to injury, the Order of Mapungubwe is South Africa’s highest honor that can only be granted by the president of South Africa, for achievements in the international arena, which have served South Africa’s interests. How can this honor maintain its prestige when the government that claims to hold it in high esteem is systematically destroying that proud heritage?

UFO Crash Lands on Botswana/South Africa Border

7th May 1989. A South African Air Force Mirage Jet allegedly shot down an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) in The Kalahari Desert, somewhere between the border of South Africa and Botswana. A well-known UK magazine called Quest International printed a Special Edition regarding this incident. According to their reporter a joint operation between the South African Air Force (S.A.A.F.) and the United States Air Force (U.S.A.F.) was mounted. The operation was dubbed Operation Silver Diamond; its aim was to recover the occupants and the debris resulting from the crash.

Unidentified Flying Object

A former United States Lieutenant Colonel is even quoted explaining how one of his informants told him that the UFO would be exchanged for advanced technology that would be given to the South African government by the United States government. Physical evidence of the crash is in the form of a printed photocopy of a response to a query from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that refers to a satellite re-entry on 7th May 1989 and a confirmation of a ‘fireball or satellite re-entry’ in the same area on 7th May 1989.

Two independent researchers, Dr. J.J. Hurtak (American ufologist and Professor of Science) and J. Von Buttlara (a German researcher) conducted their own enquiries and both came to the conclusion that a crash landing had indeed taken place in the Kalahari Desert. The incident was also confirmed by Dithoko Seiso, Botswana’s Environment Minister in a 1993 report in the Cape Town daily newspaper called ‘The Argus”. The report also brought attention to the alleged ‘cover-up’ and ‘disinformation exercise’ coming from international forces. Researchers attempting to uncover the truth have been met with ‘missing’ pieces of information.

The incident has also sparked interest around a South African underground military research base simply called Camp 13. The camp is said to be located in the Kalahari Desert and the rumor is that it is used as a laser weapons research facility. Some researchers have attributed responsibility of the UFO shooting to this camp adding that the Mirage jet fighters were simply used to “herd” the craft in the camps general direction.

Mirage Fighter Jet

The fact that information regarding the crash was found to be either missing or destroyed creates a strong atmosphere of suspicion. Nonetheless, the printed photocopy that points to the evidence of a satellite entering the airspace is still out there. If there was indeed a crash in the Kalahari Desert, do the public not deserve to know about it? Unidentified aircrafts and underground military bases point to a lot of secret activity being undertaken by the government. How many of these still exist and at which point will the public begin to have access to a more in-depth report about government activities?

Underground Military Base

These types of revelations hint as to how much more strange things may be going on that we know nothing about. Secret South Africa will continue to strive to reveal the hidden truths out there in society waiting to be laid bare.

Additional: Still in Southern Africa, in 1994, Ruwa, Zimbabwe, sixty-two schoolchildren witnessed the landing of a UFO, see the video here and here.

The “Suicide” of Apartheid Photojournalist Kevin Carter

Kevin Carter

On the 24^th of July 1994 South Africa lost one of its greatest photographers, his name was Kevin Carter. He died under suspicious circumstances with his death being reported as a suicide. Carter was born in 1960, the year of the banning of the ANC, into a Catholic family that accepted Apartheid. He, like many of his generation questioned the regime and saw the inherent injustice that the Apartheid system carried; he would often have serious quarrels with his father about it.

He was conscripted into the South African Defense Force (SADF) as was normal for any young white male at the time that was not disabled or could not obtain a student deferment. He loathed upholding the Apartheid regime and was once severely beaten and called kaffir-boetie (“nigger lover”) by some of his comrades in the SADF for trying to take sides with a black mess-hall waiter.

After completing his military service he got a job at a camera supply store and this is where his journey began. He made his name as an upcoming photographer with the local newspapers. By the year 1984 riots began sweeping the black townships and Carter aligned himself with other young photojournalists who sought to expose the brutal regime. He was the first to photograph a public execution by the cruel method of “necklacing” where a tyre is put around the victim, doused with petrol and set alight. This was a common execution specifically for individuals identified as working for the oppressive state as informants.

He also captured images from the unsuccessful invasion of Bophuthatswana by white right-wing outlaws. Their intentions were to give support to the setting up of a black homeland which was part of Apartheid’s separate development policy. These images were quite jarring as they graphically displayed the dead bodies of the right-wingers after having been executed by black Bophuthatswana policemen.

This blatant exposure of the ills of the Apartheid state was reaching far and wide and increasing the calls that would rally the world against the immoralities of the regime. One begins to foresee the kind of attacks that would most likely arise from the tyrannical state known for having units of assassins and unscrupulously eliminating any opposition. Knowing the background of the government would surely lead one to worry for the safety of Carter.

On April the 12^th, three months before his death, the New York Times called him and notified him that he had just won the most coveted prize for a photographer, the Pulitzer Prize. The prize was awarded for an eerie picture he shot in famine-stricken Sudan which depicted a gravely malnourished child being watched by a vulture waiting in anticipation for the child’s death. He was jetted to Manhattan, New York where he was celebrated and he wined and dined with the top echelon of the photographing industry.

Two months later he was back in South Africa. He did little work in this period. During a lunch with a colleague he mentioned that he was thinking of forming a writer-photographer free-lance team and traveling Africa. This clearly shows that he was harboring ideas for the furthering of his career. It is therefore strange that barely a month later he was found dead in what looked like a death by suicide.

The Pulitzer Prize gave him a much greater status and only served to popularize his pictures that visually divulged the usually state-censored inner workings of the Apartheid regime to the world. The prize also meant that he would not find difficulty in finding work as a photographer and was an omen of good luck for his future. Why then would this gifted, budding photographer take his own life? The absence of evidence pointing to murder leaves a shadowy cloud around the circumstances of his death. At the end only he would know the events which would lead to his ultimate demise.

Zuma Visits All-White Enclave of Orania

Early in August 2010 Secret South Africa blogged about the Northern Cape town called Orania. Orania is a town that is very reminiscent of the ideals of separation that were fundamental to Apartheid policy. The founders of the town, Carel Boshoff IV being the most prominent amongst them, all have histories that link them to the secret group that was behind the architecture of Apartheid known as the Afrikaner Broederbond.

It therefore raises more than a few questions to find out that President Jacob Zuma visited the town on September the 14^th, 2010. The last presidential journey made to the all-white independent enclave of Orania was during the presidential term of Nelson Mandela in 1995.

During the tumultuous era of the 90’s it was considered a gesture of reconciliation with Mandela even sitting and having tea with Betsie Verwoerd, wife of Apartheid Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd. (Carel Boshoff IV in background).

President Zuma arrived by helicopter early on the Tuesday and was greeted by schoolchildren dressed in the orange color representing the Dutch ancestry of the Afrikaner. This was as far as the acknowledgement went. The South African Press Association (Sapa) who was present reported that nobody came to the road to see him pass by. A warm welcome indeed. Zuma met with Carel Boshoff IV as well as his son the mayor, Carel Boshoff V.

Both parties saw it as a very positive experience. Spokespeople from Zuma’s office said that the main reason behind the visit was to analyze the management of the local government and understand the workings of the local economy. He also toured a housing scheme in Orania and a skills training programme.

President Jacob Zuma

At a time where workers have been heavily striking and students are causing commotion in schools one wonders how relevant the visit was to the country’s current state of affairs. It is also worthwhile to note that so many communities need the attention of the state much more than Orania does. The problems in impoverished communities are already evident with housing, lack of skills and poor amenities at the centre of the sustainable development debate. Will Zuma deal with the issues at hand head-on or will he keep avoiding the issues and taking tours while the country falls apart?

Eugene Terreblanche

The recent killing of Eugene Terreblanche, leader of Afrikaner right-wing group AWB sparked a lot of anger in the Afrikaner community prompting a potential backlash. If a backlash was being planned, Orania would be quite a suitable setting for the planning to take place. If this is indeed the case then maybe Zuma was right to go sniffing about in the Orania backyard. It is quite curious to say the least that not a soul came out to see the Presidential procession. What do you make of it?

Eugene de Kock and the Assassination of Olof Palme

Last month Secret South Africa posted a blog about the case of the Lockerbie Bombing in 1988. The incident resulted in the death of 270 people. One of those people was Bernt Carlsson from Sweden, the UN High Commissioner in Namibia. Foul play was suspected especially because of the animosity between Carlsson and the Apartheid government. Shockingly, two years earlier another important dignitary who was a close colleague of Carlsson and arguably of a much higher profile was murdered.

Olof Palme in the early 70's

Sven Olof Joachim Palme was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until his assassination in February 1986. Informally known as Olof Palme, he initially rose to the position of Prime Minister of Sweden in 1969 and remained in that position until 1976. He was re-elected in 1982 and remained in that position until 1986 when he was brutally gunned down. Bernt Carlsson was one of his protégés and political allies. Olof Palme was known to polarize people’s political views, finding himself profoundly supported by those on the left and equally abhorred by those on the right. His policies made him a widely recognized international political figure because of the controversial positions he stood by.

The fateful night of his murder, Olof Palme had decided to go and watch an evening movie at the cinema with his wife Lisbet Palme. He was known for trying to live a life as ordinary as possible often going places without any protection from his bodyguards. This night was one of such nights. While walking home from the cinema on a central street in Stockholm the couple was attacked by a lone gunman. The Prime Minister took a fatal shot at close range to the back. His wife was hit by a second shot and was wounded. Despite being rushed to hospital Olof Palme was pronounced dead on arrival. Nobody was ever convicted of the assassination but when one looks at Palme’s history strong suspicions begin to get raised in the direction of Apartheid South Africa.

Born in 1927 he went on to become President of the Swedish National Union of Students while studying law at Stockholm University at the age of 25. From early on in his academic life his political stance leaned toward socialism. Later on in life he often attributed this stance to the time he spent studying towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in the United States (1947-1948) where he became very aware of the divisions of class and was incensed by the role racism played in the society.

The institutionalization of racism in South Africa was yet to become a major issue in international politics but Palme’s strong adverse opinions to the racist doctrine, from early on, already positioned him as a potential enemy to the apartheid state. It is also crucial to note that the South African government was to become the major opposition to the spread of communism and socialism in Southern Africa, funding several proxy wars in order to maintain ascendancy in the region and protect their unjust regime. Palme’s socialist stance would come to position him against the regime.

Apartheid South Africa’s aims at growing their nuclear weapon arsenal was something well known in the world arena at the time. One can only imagine the stir that Palme created amongst the South African government of the time with his continuous campaign against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The gravity of this campaign in terms of its direct approach to dealing with imperialism pales in comparison with his outright and very vocal opposition to apartheid on the world stage. This opposition manifested in his stubborn support for economic sanctions against Apartheid South Africa. His support for the struggle of the people in South Africa also extended as far as both political and financial support for the leading organization opposing Apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC).

On the 21^st of February, a week before he was assassinated, Palme made the keynote address to the Swedish People’s Parliament Against Apartheid which was held in Stockholm. The event was attended by thousands of anti-apartheid sympathizers, leaders and officials from the Anti-Apartheid Movement as well as from the ANC. Oliver Tambo, President of the ANC, was amongst those of the most prominent leaders that attended the event. In Palme’s address he made one his most remembered statements, “Apartheid cannot be reformed, it must be eliminated”. This statement made him a direct threat to the immoral leaders of the vampiric apartheid state.

Eugene de Kock

The ANC was reviled by the apartheid state, so much so that the state actually had units of assassins whose mandate was to target key figures in the organization and other figures outside it who were seen to be supporting it in any way. No clear evidence for Palme’s killing was ever found that could conclusively point the finger at the apartheid government. However, ten years after Palme’s assassination, Colonel Eugene de Kock, a former South African police officer and covert assassin alleged that Palme had indeed been killed by the apartheid government. The reasons cited were his strong opposition to the apartheid government and Sweden’s financial and political support of the ANC.

De Kock named Craig Williamson who was a former police colleague of his and a South African superspy. Swedish police investigators visited South Africa a month later to try and find evidence to substantiate the claim but were unsuccessful. In a September, 2010 interview, Tommy Lindstrom, head of the Swedish Crime Investigation Department (CID) during the 80’s was asked who he thought was responsible for the assassination. He responded without hesitation that he still suspected apartheid South Africa were behind the assassination.

Several of the names that came up in the Lockerbie article popped up again in this one, is this a concidence? Why would Eugene de Kock deliberately lie about the killing of Olof Palme? De Kock had nothing to lose or gain by claiming responsibility for the murder. Sweden and Palme particularly, were clearly throwing as much weight as they possibly could to put pressure on the apartheid government. Knowing the violent nature of the oppressive state it certainly would not be a surprise to find confirmation of their role in the assassination. Finally, the lack of hesitation of Sweden’s highest rank of detective at the time to point the blame to the apartheid government certainly seems convincing. We leave it up to you decide…

Mind Control Poison in our Water

In September 2000 the Department of Health legislated regulations in respect of the fluoridation of potable water in South Africa. The regulation indicated that water service providers are obliged to fluoridate water to a concentration level of up to 0.7 mg F/litre as of September 2002. This legislation was initiated in a bid to stop tooth decay, especially in young children despite the fact that there remains little evidence proving that fluoride in water minimizes tooth decay. Some consider this act as being unconstitutional because consumers of water in the population are not consulted in this matter and the resulting accusations are that of forced medication.

Fluoride is used as an insect and cockroach killer. As little as one-tenth of an ounce of fluoride will cause death. It is more poisonous than lead and just slightly less poisonous than arsenic. A glass of fluoridated water will not cause immediate death but concerns rest in the long term effects of the chemical on the body. An increase in fluoride levels in the tissues and organs of the body results in a wide range of chronic diseases. Birth defects, genetic damage and cancer are the most worrying long term effects of fluoride. Other effects include the aggravation of kidney disease, diabetes and hypothyroidism. Multiple scientific studies have proved the link between increases in the concentration of fluoride and carcinogenic tumour growth. A study in 1975 based around millions of subjects revealed a 5 to 10% increase in cancer death rate within three to five years after fluoridation was put into the water.  Ten years later, Proctor and Gamble, makers of Crest toothpaste found that fluoride was causing precarcinogenic changes in cells.

Substances like fluoride which cause genetic damage are called mutagenic substances and it is a well-accepted fact that substances which are mutagenic also tend to be carcinogenic, or cancer producing.  In fact, this is exactly what has been found with regard to fluoride.

During World War II hundreds of thousands of innocents were exterminated in concentration camps in Russia and Germany. Nazi scientists keen on controlling the behaviour of camp inmates experimented with fluoride.  Repeated doses of very small amounts of fluoride were discovered to affect the brain, slowly poisoning and narcotizing people, making them submissive.  Eager to exploit the effects of the drug, both German and Russian camp commanders added fluoride to water supplies. The German chemical manufacturing giant I.G. Farben became responsible for mass producing fluoride for the death camps and other possible future uses. Today over 60 tranquilizers on the market contain fluoride. Strong tranquilizers like Rohypnol and Stelazine are highly fluoridated and like the majority of brands in the market they are produced by I.G. Farben and its subsidiaries (Roche products being one of them).

American soldiers entering Germany at the end of the war made the liberating of prisoners of war at concentration camps a priority. At camp after camp, they found stockpiles of fluoride stored near the water supply. When they asked what the fluoride was used for, they were told that the Nazi Germans used the substance as an additive to the prisoner’s water, to make them docile. This is the first known incidence of intentionally fluoridating drinking water.

Fluoride is an industrial waste product, a by-product of the aluminum industry and the phosphate fertilizer companies. Historically, this substance was quite expensive for chemical companies to dispose of. They had vast amounts of the by-product and they had to get rid of it, the companies decided to do this by convincing governments of the benefits of diluting the waste inside our water.

The dangers of fluoride inhalation are exhibited by people living in the vicinity of aluminum, phosphate, steel, clay, glass and enamel plants who are exposed to high levels of fluoride in the air. These areas show extremely high lung cancer rates that decrease as you get away from the downwind plume of the steel mills. If fluoride was left with the phosphate and sold to farmers, it would kill their crops.

The Pelindaba nuclear/chemical complex, is set to become the major supplier of hundreds of tons of fluoride which will be added to drinking water throughout the country from next year. What is even more intriguing is that this specific nuclear/chemical complex was set up by the apartheid government in the 1960s to produce atomic bombs and enriched uranium fuel.

In addition to these shocking facts it has been further discovered by fluoride researcher Ian E. Stephens that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher tripled the water-fluoridation budget in Northern Ireland during the mid 80’s. Stephens speculated that this was not motivated by concern for dental health, but an attempt to pacify political activists in the area. It is no secret that Thatcher opposed sanctions on apartheid South Africa and publicly condemned ANC members as terrorists.

During the past 10 years South African water boards and Rand Water specifically have been making submissions to government ministries. These submissions center around acquiring indemnity from the Department of Health against any claims arising from the fluoridation of water giving rise to possible health implications on individuals or impact on the environment. The Department of Health has responded that any claims regarding possible health implications or impact on the environment on industrial water users must be made against the Minister of Health. In this way the water boards will not be found liable should any claims arise from the fluoridated water.

The majority of countries in the world have objected to the fluoridation of their water. Many European countries have spearheaded powerful campaigns curtailing and ending government implementation of fluoridated water.  Among developed countries, the United States of America remains one of the last countries still allowing the fluoridation of their water supply. In addition to the numerous scholars who object to water fluoridation, 14 Nobel Prize winners who were awarded Nobel prizes, some in Chemistry and others in Medicine, have objected to fluoridation. 

The public is uneducated in terms of this issue. For what other reason would the population be quiet when they are being fed rat/cockroach poison in their water? The multiple chronic diseases and adverse long-term effects associated with fluoride should be enough to create uproar against the implementing of the substance in potable water. Levels in rural areas have been found to be far above what is considered a safe level. How will the increased acidity already identified in the water, mix with the toxic fluoride, and what will be the consequence for those who drink it?

Not only has fluoride been confirmed as being linked to cancer but it also mutates genetic structure. Even more disturbing is the fact that fluoride was one of the most used chemicals by Nazi Germany who used the chemical to subdue prisoners in concentration camps by putting it into the drinking water. This is compounded by the discovery that the Pelindaba nuclear/chemical complex set up by the apartheid government will be supplying us with our fluoride. The company Pelchem, located in Pelindaba, stands to boost its annual revenue of about R130 million by at least 10% if it corners the local water fluoridation market.

Why have South African water boards been so adamant about acquiring indemnity from health and environmental impacts relating to fluoride? This surely posits as evidence that they are aware that fluoride is not a safe substance for human ingestion. It is unusual for a government to agree to carry the liabilities of a company. Yet, in this instance this is the case. What are the motivations behind government’s strong support for the fluoridation of South Africa’s water? Even prestigious Nobel Prize winners have stood up against it. Do these doctors, chemists and scientists not carry enough authority to dissuade us away from this mass poisoning? If they cannot convince us, who can?….

The Lockerbie Bombing Apartheid Conspiracy

1988 was an important time in the history of South Africa with more and more countries implementing sanctions against the Apartheid government to try and pressure them into changing their policies. Rivalries between guerilla forces and the South African Defence Force (SADF) and the South African Police Force (SAPF) escalated resulting in fatalities and casualties on both sides. This was also the year of the killing of senior ANC member Dulcie September in Paris, March 1988. Before her assassination she had been investigating the trafficking of nuclear weapons between France and South Africa.  

Another incident formed part of a major news story, namely, the Lockerbie Bombing on the 21^st of December, 1988. 270 people flying on the Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York were killed after the plane exploded during flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Despite several groups claiming that they were behind the act of terrorism, Libyan intelligence officer and head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA), Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was convicted of the bombing.

Amongst the people who were killed was Bernt Carlsson, UN High Commissioner for Namibia.

Bernt Carlsson

A noteworthy point would be that representatives of South Africa, United States of America, Angola and Cuba met in May of the same year. The meeting was about searching for a solution to the Angolan war and independence for Namibia from South Africa. The killing of the UN High Commissioner would seem to be an act of defiance against discussions towards independence in Namibia. The Commissioner was on his way to the UN signing of the Tripartite Accord which would grant independence to Namibia and end the direct involvement of foreign troops in the Angolan Civil War. Interestingly, Carlsson had links with the ANC.

Oliver Tambo

On the 14^th of March, 1982 he tipped off the then ANC president, Oliver Tambo not to attend a meeting in the London offices of the ANC which were bombed by one of Carlsson’s compatriots on the same day.

The main antagonist to countries finding independence in Southern Africa was actually the South African government at the time. They believed that this independence would allow blocs of resistance in the region to strengthen their support, both economically and militarily, for the freedom struggle in South Africa.

It comes as a strange coincidence to know that senior South African officials were booked on the flight. These individuals included foreign affairs minister, Pik Botha, defence minister, Magnus Malan and military intelligence head CJ van Tonder. The men were well-known for their ties and loyalty to the apartheid government of South Africa.

Pik Botha

Shortly before the plane was due to take-off they cancelled their booking for the flight and booked themselves an earlier flight to New York. This led to great suspicion that the Apartheid government in South Africa somehow had a part to play in the bombing.

Magnus Malan

The fact that Bernt Carlsson had been helpful to the president of the ANC (Oliver Tambo) on a number of previous occasions provides possible ascription of motive for assassination to the apartheid government in that the ANC were one of their greatest political enemies. What is the reason behind their last minute change in booking? Is it not conceivable to assume that they knew about the plan to bomb the plane? They were after all travelling with both the military head of intelligence and the defence minister of a country that was in perpetual war… Why was no significant form of investigation done into this matter? Another puzzle in the quagmires of history left unresolved…

Zombie Ants

According to The Guardian, scientists have made new discoveries about a specific type of parasitic fungus that has evolved to alter the behaviour of their hosts, in this case, carpenter ants. The finding shows that the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus has the ability to transform ants into a ‘zombified’ state and make them stagger to their deaths.

The fungus, which, lives on forest floors, latches on the ant’s stomach, grows inside the ant and releases chemicals that affect their behaviour. Some ants leave the colony and wander off to find fresh leaves on their own, while others fall from their tree-top havens on to leaves nearer the ground.

The final stage of the parasitic death sentence is the most macabre. In their last hours, infected ants move towards the underside of the leaf they are on and lock their mandibles in a “death grip” around the central vein, immobilising themselves and locking the fungus in position.

Harvard University’s David Hughes says: “This can happen en masse. You can find whole graveyards with 20 or 30 ants in a square metre. Each time, they are on leaves that are a particular height off the ground and they have bitten into the main vein before dying.”

Scientists led by Hughes noticed that ants infected with the fungus,Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, bit into leaves with so much force they left a lasting mark. The holes created by their mandibles either side of the leaf vein are bordered by scar tissue, producing an unmistakable dumb-bell shape. These distinct shapes have been found of leaf samples from over 48 million years ago, suggesting that this deadly symbiotic behaviour has predates human civilization.

Scientists are struggling to answer why a parasiste would not only try kill its host, but take over the its brain and then kill it…

Do you think scientists would ever be able to duplicate results in humans? History has seen some despicable human experiments being done over the years. I’m sure the prospect of being able to control and dispose of human targets must be an attractive proposition to some military scientists.

If it can happen in nature, what’s to stop it from being duplicated in a lab?

Dressed to Kill

Through Project Coast, the Apartheid Government developed a range of biological and chemical weapons that were used to eliminate political rivals. The following article deals with one of the Apartheid Government’s preferred assassination methods: lacing items of clothing with poison.

There have been a variety of documented reports, detailing how Apartheid agents laced items of clothing with lethal toxins and poison, so that they would be slowly absorbed by their victims and cause death without suspicion of foul play.

In an article published by the Daily Mail in 2007, shocking details were finally put on record when Adriaan Vlok, the hardline Apartheid-era police minister, admitted to trying to kill Frank Chikane, a black anti-apartheid activist by lacing his underwear with poison. Vlok was the only apartheid-era minister to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And while he received an amnesty for a series of bombings that he orchestrated during Apartheid, he faced criminal chargesfor his assassination attempt on Chikane’s life.

Frank Chikane, who survived the attack, went on to play an important role in South Africa’s new government, becoming advisor to former President Thabo Mbeki. Chikane testified that the specific type of poison used against him attacked his nervous system, making him violently ill.

Unfortunately the use of poisoned items of clothing was not an isolated incident during Apartheid. According to other reports, the Roodeplaat Research Laboratories developed a poison that could be applied to T-shirts. As the toxin entered the bloodstream, it would form a blood clot causing heart failure. An autopsy would thus show the cause of death to be natural. This plan was part of an attempt to target black student activists, but ultimately failed when the police hit squads who were to distribute the T-shirts “chickened out.”

How many people were killed by the Apartheid Government through this insidious and cowardly tactic? What other dirty tricks did the Apartheid Government have up their sleeves? The further I dig back into the past, the stronger I believe that the truth is stranger than fiction.