Tuesday 28 August 2012

Rapes, thefts and assaults spark travel warning : The Australian Utopian

From here.

THE German Government has warned backpackers not to walk the streets of Alice Springs at night after increasing reports of rapes, thefts and assaults on young tourists in the desert town.

The German Foreign Office has updated its travel information on its website, saying Alice Springs is a "special situation, especially at night'', the Northern Territory News reported.

The call came after a German tourist was one of two young women gang-raped at gunpoint inside her own parked van at night in Alice Springs last May.

The attack happened on the same night that four youths robbed a 43-year-old German in the same town.
The updated travel information triggered the large German weekly magazine Der Spiegel to warn its readership that not every Australian was "your mate''.

It said no other country was as popular as Australia with more than 15,000 young German men and women visiting on a work and holiday visa last year alone.

Most people had come to party, see koalas and kangaroos and experience the Outback. But the magazine reported Germans were more likely to take risks in Australia than anywhere else, including hitch-hiking, accepting drinks from strangers and travelling to remote locations with people they barely knew.
Der Spiegel said car theft and stealing from vehicles was three times higher per capita than in Germany.

The magazine also reported lonely figures would roam the deserts to take advantage of the remoteness and rob tourists.

And the magazine advised travellers not to step out of their cars when a vehicle seemed broken down on the side of the road.

The risk-taking attitude has almost cost several German travellers in the Territory Outback life and limb.

5 comments:

Katzenjammer said...

As usual, Steve Hofmeyr adds his five cents worth to the debate to boost his declining record sales.
________________________

Woolworths douses racial fires

Cape Town - White workers at Woolworths Holdings [JSE:WHL] came to the retailer's defence on Tuesday, tweeting in their individual capacities that racist employment claims are “baseless” and “100% untrue”.

SA promo magazine reported on Monday that Woolworths was caught out for not wanting to hire any white staff.

The report referred to a blog posted on Sunday by Justin Harrison, in which he claimed the clothes and food retailer's advertising excluded whites in recruitment advertisements.

Harrison said in his blog he broke the story on social networks over the weekend, when Woolworths SA posted ads on its career site saying its jobs are open to African, coloured and Indian candidates only.

Harrison wrote in his follow-up blog that as a post-apartheid child, he is "neither politically motivated or (sic) inspired, however the increasing blatant racist economic policies that are very clearly exclusive of whites is starting to require a voice and some decisive action.

“Those whites who are still in South Africa stayed and signed up for a fully inclusive country, and just want to get on with it and build a South Africa that works for everyone.

"Woolworths SA is not alone in it’s (sic) policies, recent racist hiring policies events at SAA that also excludes whites highlights that government regulation has made it acceptable to exclude certain race groups under the guise of economic transformation,” he wrote.

The story sparked a small debate on Twitter, with Steve Hofmeyr tweeting: “Gonna be hard, but goodbye Woolies.”

Woolworths employee Denver Berman-Jacob tweeted rumours that Woolworths SA is not employing any white people is baseless and without merit. “I think I should know, I work here.”

Another worker and former Women24 editor Sam Wilson tweeted: “Guys, I’m white. I am currently interviewing white people. This @WOOLWORTHS_SA white racism thing because we comply with BEE? Weird.”

Fin24

Anonymous said...

Bom bom bom BOM! Mike Smith's blog has been closed down.

Anonymous said...

Seems like you're running a little thin on good news lately?

Starting to question everytyhing you've been so cocksure about maybe?

If not, you fucking should be.

Anonymous said...

"On the other side, the country’s ever-shrinking roster of cheerleaders"
Oh dear, I thought I had read Rooster when I saw these words...Oh dear...maybe what we need is a new Weld Caap....
http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-10-26-analysis-were-not-in-eden-anymore-south-africa

Anonymous said...

MS blog shut down? Looks more like he has taken it off-line like he usually does when taking a break.

Guess you should be watching out for SAS.