Nelson Mandela will join former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu, ex-UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson, and others in what is billed as a global humanitarian alliance with the name "Elders." The Elders' circle of supposed statesmen could reach a dozen members; the name is in deference to the respect given to elders in African culture.

British airline mogul Richard Branson is one of the group's founders and principal financial backers. "These are people giving up their time for nothing. Most individuals in the world would welcome a group of people who are above ego, who, in the last 12 or 15 years of their lives, are above partisan politics," Branson said, according to the New York Times.

It seems like the group may have a humanitarian bent, but that is not the case according to former President Jimmy Carter. "The Elders won't get involved in delivering bed nets for malaria prevention," Carter explained. "The issue is to fill vacuums — to address major issues that aren't being adequately addressed." To translate global-speak to English, what Carter means is that the "Elders" will be an unelected NGO pressure group whose purported influence will be used to support calls for increases in the number and scope of United Nations interventions around the world.

The group has received copious praise, much of it targeted at Mandela, of whom South African Human Rights Commission chairperson Jody Kollapen, for instance, said: "The manner in which he lives his life and how he treats people, whether ordinary or a king, reminds us of what common humanity is."

Though considered a hero by many, Mandela has, in fact, a communist background and was guilty of subversion and conspiracy to further the communist agenda by overthrowing the official government of South Africa. The African National Congress (ANC), of which he was a leader, achieved governmental control through violence and revolution rather than through peaceful means.

Mandela is guilty of the burning of 2,800 black schools. He was caught and arrested with 210,000 hand grenades, 48,000 land mines, 50 tons of high explosives and plans for blowing up 107 buildings. During his trial, indisputable evidence was brought forth that his plans were with the full knowledge and support of Moscow. He admitted to acts of terrorism and sabotage and was sentenced to life in prison in 1964 but was released in 1990.

Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandela's wife at the time, carried out his murderous revolutionary strategies during his imprisonment and collaborated with her bodyguards in the abduction and tortuous murder of a 14-year-old girl along with the cruel beatings of four youths that took place in her own home.

Mandela himself stated: "The people of South Africa, led by the South African communist party, will destroy capitalist society and build in its place socialism." Even after almost 30 years in prison his communist sympathies remained strong as indicated in his essay on "How to be a Good Communist." He praised Cuban dictator Fidel Castro for his "love of human rights and of freedom." He wrote books on guerrilla warfare and sabotage and was proud of his advanced revolutionary tactics.

The incredible atrocities committed by the African National Congress are well documented and worth bringing to light, as proof that Mendela's actions are in direct opposition to the common perception proffered by media mythmakers that he is a peace-loving humanitarian.

Nothing could be further from the truth. He is not a diplomatic superhero and there is no evidence that he is reformed.

It is therefore quite a stretch to entertain the notion that the Elders is a group of ordinary citizens that would advocate true human rights, and that they don't represent a particular country or particular ideology or geopolitical bent. It's just another media cartel spin of the grossest kind.