Aurora – praag.org

Blacks worse off now than under apartheid – Julius Malema

Black people are worse off than they were during the apartheid years, expelled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema said on Thursday.

“We are worse [off] than during the times of apartheid. We are being killed by our own people. We are being oppressed by our own government,” he told mineworkers at the Aurora mine in Grootvlei, Springs.

More than 1000 mineworkers from the liquidated Aurora Empowerment Systems and the neighbouring Gold One arrived to hear Malema speak.

He said politicians could not help the workers because they benefited from the mines and had shares in them.

“Every mine has a politician inside. They give them money every month, they call it shares. But it is protection fee to protect whites against the workers.”

He said the fact the Aurora crisis had lasted for four years showed there was no leadership in the country. Aurora Empowerment Systems bought the mines when the previous owner, Pamodzi Gold, went into liquidation. Since then workers have not been paid and the mines have been stripped of assets.

“If there was leadership in this country it can’t take four years. Four years shows that there is not leadership. When they (politicians) arrive to represent you, they give them money and they forget you.”

Malema told the workers they should form a committee to speak to the lawyers and present their complaints to the liquidators of Aurora.

He announced what he labelled the start of a revolution in the mining sector.

“We are going to lead a mining revolution in this country. We are going to each mine. We will run these mines ungovernable until the boers come to the table,” he said.

“We want them to give you a minimum wage of R12,500. These people can afford R12,500. Mining in South Africa amounts to trillions of rands.”

About 5000 people had been left jobless at Aurora. It was currently under liquidation.

The prospective buyers of Aurora mines, Gold One, have allegedly fired over 1500 workers who went on strike demanding a minimum wage of R6500.

The miners claimed management then replaced them with contract workers. – Sapa

Malema arrives at Aurora mine

Ululation, whistles and jubilation greeted expelled ANCYL leader Julius Malema’s arrival at the Aurora mine in Grootvlei, Springs, on Thursday.

Workers sang “Ngisebenzela izingane zami emgodini” (I’m working for my children in the mine).

Malema arrived in a Mercedes-Benz Viano minibus dressed in a white shirt, black pants and his trademark beret.

Workers at the mine told Malema how President Jacob Zuma promised to help them, but never honoured his words.

“Zuma was here… took payslips and promised to attend to our problems. He then disappeared and then brought his kids to run the mine,” said one of the workers.

Aurora’s directors include Zuma’s nephew Khulubuse Zuma and former president Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Zondwa Mandela.

Workers told Malema how the liquidators of Aurora Empowerment Systems demolished their hostel, leaving them on the street.

“We were paid R500 and told that was 40 percent of our provident fund,” one of the workers claimed. – Sapa

Malema was expected to address the workers, left without wages for months after Aurora took over the liquidated Pamodzi Gold mines. Aurora’s directors have been accused of stripping the mine’s assets and not paying workers their salaries. An inquiry into the matter is underway.

Americans flock to Batman movie, regardless

The three 18-year-olds, friends since middle school, are about to go off separately to college this fall. But on Sunday, these avid fans of the Batman film franchise had no doubt where they wanted to be: Together, at the movies, watching “The Dark Knight Rises.”

“What happened in Colorado was horrible, but that guy was just a psycho,” said Sahil Agrawal, of Queens in New York City, waiting with friends David Kim and Danny Wong for an Imax showing on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. “This wasn’t going to change our plans.”

The three were typical of hordes of fans who packed theaters across the country over the weekend, keeping plans to see the final installment of the phenomenally successful Batman trilogy despite Friday’s horrific shooting in Colorado. Despite the occasional jitter – reflected in the choice of a back-row seat, perhaps, or a glance to see what security was in place – the fans seemed determined to look beyond the shooting.

“I’m not going to let some nut who shoots people dictate what I’m going to do,” said Ron Bondy, 36, in Bismarck, N.D., a sentiment echoed by fans all over the country.

Not that there weren’t some evident qualms among moviegoers. At the same theater in Bismarck, Jen Jackson had insisted upon one thing to her husband: They were going to sit in the back row in case they needed to get out fast. The 29-year-old architect was also forgoing the popcorn – not as a precaution, but because nerves had stolen her appetite.

“I’ll be honest, I’m kind of scared,” said Jackson. She had hesitated to come at all. But her husband, Patrick, standing alongside her, was pragmatic: “I don’t think anything would happen in Bismarck.”

Warner Bros. and other studios banded together to withhold the usual weekend revenue reports until Monday, a day later than usual, out of respect for the victims. But industry estimates suggested the film was on track to be the third highest opening weekend ever, after “The Avengers” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.”

Katie Birkel had no intention of missing the occasion. She was at a Manhattan showing along with three friends, celebrating one of their birthdays. Birkel said she had been inspired by a statement from the film’s director, Christopher Nolan, after the tragedy, which occurred at the midnight showing in Aurora, Colo.

“He said that movies are about coming together and sharing an experience,” noted Birkel, 28. “I agree with that.”

Mike Sumner, standing a few steps behind her in a Batman T-shirt, said he was comforted by seeing the NYPD outside the theater – at least two officers were patrolling outside. “Colorado was an isolated incident,” he said. “I’m not afraid of copycats. Besides, I’m a New Yorker. We’re always vigilant.”

Police were also visible outside a theater in McAllen, Texas, near the Mexico border, where an officer firmly waved away drivers who attempted to stop in front.

Inside, Juan Carlos Rivera waited with his mother-in-law and his wife. The 38-year-old Brownsville resident said the family had been big fans of the first two movies and wouldn’t want to skip the third.

“It looks like it was an isolated incident,” Rivera said of the mass shooting. He said he’d probably sit on the aisle – not out of fear, but because his wife was pregnant and might need the restroom. “You can’t allow a random event like that to terrorize you,” he said.

Besides, many said in interviews, what was the chance that lightning would strike twice?

“I don’t think that that many people are crazy enough,” reasoned Dayna Freeman of Kansas City, Mo.

Her date, Tom Meyer, added that the theater – the Cinemark Palace at The Plaza – had excellent security. The two had bought their tickets on Sunday, but like most interviewed, they said the shooting in no way had sparked their curiosity. “No, I can’t imagine anything like that,” said Meyer.

Meyer added that he didn’t think the content of the movie had anything to do with the crime: “You can’t really attribute the actions of a nut to the movies,” he said. “Two years ago, he would have picked `Avatar.'”

Still, despite sharing that logic, some were showing nerves. In Hollywood, Fla., Steve Parenteau, 45, said he wasn’t thinking at all about the shooting. But his 13-year-old son, Noah, looked solemn, saying the Colorado tragedy was on his mind. “It’s scary,” he said. “I can picture it.”

And at a multiplex in downtown Chicago, roommates Sarah Cantor and Brittany Carter avoided a midnight showing. “I was relieved to know that we were going to a matinee,” said Cantor, 23.

Still, most moviegoers echoed the feeling that the attack could have happened anywhere, anytime.

“Things are going to happen wherever they’re going to happen, because people are nuts wherever,” said Rachel Cox, who saw the movie at Atlanta’s Midtown Arts Cinema. “Crazy travels, so I don’t really think it has anything to do with geography or the movie … crazy people are crazy.” Still, she added, she planned to sit in the back – because she likes the view from there, but also because she considered it safer, even before Colorado.

In midtown Manhattan, Randy Cordero and Megan Rivera sat on the pavement outside an AMC Loews Theater, waiting with soft drinks and a magazine for a late-afternoon show. They’d bought their tickets online Saturday, and said the shooting hadn’t affected their plans. They’d hoped for a midnight showing, but it was sold out.

“I don’t think it’ll happen to me, but it can always happen,” noted Cordero. But Rivera said there was one thing that would indeed cause her some concern: seeing someone in costume, especially as the Joker (New York’s police commissioner, Ray Kelly, said the shooter, James Holmes, had his hair painted red and said he was the Joker, but Aurora police have not confirmed that.) “I’d feel more cautious, and I’d think, `I’ve got to watch that guy,'” she said.

Waiting for an earlier show at the same theater was Devin Favors, 24, an event ticket broker from Brooklyn. He said he’d bought his ticket last week, but even if he hadn’t, nothing would have stopped him from seeing the movie.

After all, he said, “This is America. And you should be able to go where you want to go, and see what you want to see.” – AP

Batman shooter James Holmes was a ‘loner’

The man suspected of shooting 12 people dead at a screening of the new Batman movie in Colorado was often seen carrying guns to and from his home and was described Friday as a “loner.”

James Holmes, 24, was enrolled since June 2011 as a student in neuroscience at the University of Colorado, but was reportedly in the process of withdrawing from his PhD program.

In a photo released by the university, Holmes wore a burnt-orange T-shirt and sported a smile, but one neighbor at the apartment block where the suspect lived in Aurora recalled a subdued character.

“He was always wearing camouflage pants and a hat,” said Gabriel Macias, a Mexican who works at a meat factory and recalled seeing Holmes carrying guns and weapon cases to and from his apartment.

“We did not know him well because he talked to nobody. He was always locked up behind his door,” said Macias.

A second photo, from Holmes’s San Diego high school yearbook, showed him in a dark suit, this time flashing a toothy smile. He graduated from Westview High School in San Diego in 2006.

Melvin Evans, a security guard from a nearby building said he occasionally saw Holmes at a local bar.

“He was always by himself. Looked like a nice guy,” said Evans, 33. “I go to the bar every Sunday for Karaoke. I’ve seen him there every now and then. We would talk sometimes, the weather, you know.”

The FBI described Holmes as a white male, 6-foot-3 (1.9 meters) tall, born on December 13, 1987, with no significant criminal record and no links to terrorism.

Residents at the apartment block were removed in the wake of the shooting after it appeared that Holmes’s home had been booby-trapped.

Police in Aurora, Colorado, told reporters records showed that the shooting suspect’s only infringement in the city was a speeding ticket in 2011.

In an apartment rental application he submitted in early 2011, Holmes described himself as a “quiet and easy-going” student, the Denver Post said on its website (www.denverpost.com).

“No one knew him. No one,” it quoted a pharmacy student living in the same building — reserved for medical students, faculty and staff — in Aurora as saying.

The student, who only gave his name as Ben, said Holmes kept to himself and would not say hello or acknowledge other people in the hallway.

Ben also revealed he had called police shortly after midnight –coincidentally around the time of the massacre at a Batman premiere — to report a song blaring from inside Holmes’ apartment.

Ben could not make out the song, but it appeared to be playing on repeat.

Tom Mai, a next-door neighbor of the Holmes family in San Diego, remembered Holmes as a shy teenager who did not play or socialize with other youngsters in the neighborhood, the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper said.

“He said that he last saw him two years ago when he came home during summer recess from college,” it said on its website (www.utsandiego.com). “The family, he said, was nice and involved with a Presbyterian church.”

Holmes graduated from the University of California in Riverside in 2010 with a degree in neuroscience, said its director of communications Kris Lovekin, who added she could not release any further information about him.

Mashable.com, which monitors social media, said Holmes was “an online ghost” with no apparent presence on sites like Facebook or Twitter, although people sharing Holmes’ name found themselves suddenly bombarded with attention.

In a statement, Holmes’ family said they were cooperating with investigators.

“We are still trying to process this information and we appreciate that people will respect our privacy,” the family said, after Holmes’ mother Arlen confirmed her son was the suspected shooter. – AFP