Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Monday, 11 June 2012
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Hard and soft
“Men are born soft and supple; dead they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.”
― Lao Tzu
This echoes so nicely with the recent posts "Censors", and "Art and Politics". You have life and death, and we all choose one to serve.
― Lao Tzu
This echoes so nicely with the recent posts "Censors", and "Art and Politics". You have life and death, and we all choose one to serve.
Minature Traffic Jam
Yesterday while most of us were at work, some people were out playing with their toys. Dinkie toys, 13 243 dinkie cars to be precise.
The now famous Vilikazi st hosted World's Largest Miniature Traffic Jam .
I can't seem to embed the pictures, the link is to facebook, and it was sponsored by TomTom. I hope those cars were donated to one of the many orphanages in the area.
Very nicely done!
The now famous Vilikazi st hosted World's Largest Miniature Traffic Jam .
I can't seem to embed the pictures, the link is to facebook, and it was sponsored by TomTom. I hope those cars were donated to one of the many orphanages in the area.
Very nicely done!
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Venus in transit
Awesome.
Then someone tapped me on the shoulder and said no you're wrong. That's not Venus in transit, this is venus in transit. So my apologies.
Bloggees, may i present: Venus in Transit.
Then someone tapped me on the shoulder and said no you're wrong. That's not Venus in transit, this is venus in transit. So my apologies.
Bloggees, may i present: Venus in Transit.
Monday, 4 June 2012
Good for everyone
The Telegraph
I seem to recall having seen this photo before, it's a fazer of course :) And it's not often something really can positively impact others by accident, or not. As a by product that is. Awesome article, i'll repost a few of the highlights.
__________________________________
The study’s aim was to look at the effect on traffic flow and congestion of some commuters changing from cars to motorcycles. Interestingly, some of the consequences were dramatic for all road users, not just the commuters who made the switch to two wheels.
Satisfied that the model reflected the real world accurately and the PCE value for motorcycles was accurate, TML next looked at the consequences on traffic flow of one in 10 car drivers switching to motorcycles. The results were astonishing. The travel time for the remaining 90 per cent of car drivers at the 7.50am peak increased by just six minutes instead of 14, while the queues started later and dissipated sooner.
With a tenth of car drivers now using motorcycles, the main queue is gone by 8.30am instead of 9.10am, while the number of “lost vehicle hours” decreases by 63 per cent to 706.
In other words, car emissions fell because they were not stuck in traffic jams for so long.
__________________________________
The study’s aim was to look at the effect on traffic flow and congestion of some commuters changing from cars to motorcycles. Interestingly, some of the consequences were dramatic for all road users, not just the commuters who made the switch to two wheels.
Satisfied that the model reflected the real world accurately and the PCE value for motorcycles was accurate, TML next looked at the consequences on traffic flow of one in 10 car drivers switching to motorcycles. The results were astonishing. The travel time for the remaining 90 per cent of car drivers at the 7.50am peak increased by just six minutes instead of 14, while the queues started later and dissipated sooner.
With a tenth of car drivers now using motorcycles, the main queue is gone by 8.30am instead of 9.10am, while the number of “lost vehicle hours” decreases by 63 per cent to 706.
In other words, car emissions fell because they were not stuck in traffic jams for so long.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Art and politics
The Soweton
The late Eugene Terreblanche, reading the bible to his murderer, Chris Mahlangu, seated on his lap.
The piece was created in February for an exhibition -The State of Chakra - that will take place in August.
________________________________
Some comment is necessary i think, i repost these contentious issues because i can, literally. I can also speak my thoughts on the matter, so excuse me if i practice awhile. We may not have this privilege for long, and since it's about art, i'll call this waxing lyrical, only i can't sing here, for which you should be grateful.
Art, that picture is art. It can only be, because it's not really anything else? Not something i'd want to own to be honest, especially with the political overtones, but if i were in an art gallery, this is what i would be seeing right? The artist had a feeling, a thought, an impression, and instead of tying it all up in words, like we do, he painted an image. A single image that can convey quite a lot of different, sometimes opposing messages.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
The creation of Zuma as Lenin in the typical Soviet style, of course with the invocation of patriarchy and naked emperors, did the same thing. It was an idea, presented in a single helping. No sentences and paragraphs to wade through first. BANG. You are now thinking about something the artist wanted you to think about. An art gallery is where you go to be imbued with the artistic expressions of others.
And it should be provocative, in many different ways. And if a simple painting can inspire action in others, so much the better. Brett Murray can never be a poor man now, his creations have authority in the art world. The personal expression of one man made a nation talk, that is more power than Zuma has ever had. Other works of art are forgotten by the next piece in the gallery, they may be nice, but they do not inspire one with passion.
I am enjoying this re-awakening of art. The South African story has inspired many people to express themselves in many ways. I learned recently that former minister of defense Adriaan Vlok was so remorseful over his actions that he began washing the feet of his victims, as penance. That too is art. Creating something unique and beautiful even for a moment in time, is art. It is the act of living itself that is artistic, merging creativity and experience to further the boundaries of one's own world.
We live in the land of Afrika Burns, where art is created with the sole purpose of destroying it, and immortalising it at the same time. How can the same place and time co exist with the madness of the last few days? Art reflects life, it comes out of life. What we saw this week with the destruction of art, and newspapers, is death, and by extension, murder. It is the opposite of life, and art, and is the mud from whence the lotus flowers bloom.
This painting is the answer to the other. They mirror each other ... a white artist painting a black man, and a black artist painting a white man. Both show South African leaders in a context seen by the painter, and both highly relevant not only to the artist, but to all of us, the viewers. Both are emotive, possibly insulting, and open to a fair amount of personal interpretation, and both are intentionally provocative. Curious that seen from the position of their "opposites", one is remembered for his lesser known male bits, and the other in a context of a religion.
So go paint something today, or someone, which is usually more interesting!
The late Eugene Terreblanche, reading the bible to his murderer, Chris Mahlangu, seated on his lap.
The piece was created in February for an exhibition -The State of Chakra - that will take place in August.
________________________________
Some comment is necessary i think, i repost these contentious issues because i can, literally. I can also speak my thoughts on the matter, so excuse me if i practice awhile. We may not have this privilege for long, and since it's about art, i'll call this waxing lyrical, only i can't sing here, for which you should be grateful.
Art, that picture is art. It can only be, because it's not really anything else? Not something i'd want to own to be honest, especially with the political overtones, but if i were in an art gallery, this is what i would be seeing right? The artist had a feeling, a thought, an impression, and instead of tying it all up in words, like we do, he painted an image. A single image that can convey quite a lot of different, sometimes opposing messages.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
The creation of Zuma as Lenin in the typical Soviet style, of course with the invocation of patriarchy and naked emperors, did the same thing. It was an idea, presented in a single helping. No sentences and paragraphs to wade through first. BANG. You are now thinking about something the artist wanted you to think about. An art gallery is where you go to be imbued with the artistic expressions of others.
And it should be provocative, in many different ways. And if a simple painting can inspire action in others, so much the better. Brett Murray can never be a poor man now, his creations have authority in the art world. The personal expression of one man made a nation talk, that is more power than Zuma has ever had. Other works of art are forgotten by the next piece in the gallery, they may be nice, but they do not inspire one with passion.
I am enjoying this re-awakening of art. The South African story has inspired many people to express themselves in many ways. I learned recently that former minister of defense Adriaan Vlok was so remorseful over his actions that he began washing the feet of his victims, as penance. That too is art. Creating something unique and beautiful even for a moment in time, is art. It is the act of living itself that is artistic, merging creativity and experience to further the boundaries of one's own world.
We live in the land of Afrika Burns, where art is created with the sole purpose of destroying it, and immortalising it at the same time. How can the same place and time co exist with the madness of the last few days? Art reflects life, it comes out of life. What we saw this week with the destruction of art, and newspapers, is death, and by extension, murder. It is the opposite of life, and art, and is the mud from whence the lotus flowers bloom.
This painting is the answer to the other. They mirror each other ... a white artist painting a black man, and a black artist painting a white man. Both show South African leaders in a context seen by the painter, and both highly relevant not only to the artist, but to all of us, the viewers. Both are emotive, possibly insulting, and open to a fair amount of personal interpretation, and both are intentionally provocative. Curious that seen from the position of their "opposites", one is remembered for his lesser known male bits, and the other in a context of a religion.
So go paint something today, or someone, which is usually more interesting!
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Censors
Censors are dead men
set up to judge between life and death.
For no live, sunny man would be a censor,
he’d just laugh.
But censors, being dead men,
have a stern eye on life.
—That thing’s alive! It’s dangerous.
Make away with it!—
And when the execution is performed
you hear the stertorous, self-righteous heavy
breathing of the dead men,
the censors, breathing with relief.
DH Lawrence, “Censors”
set up to judge between life and death.
For no live, sunny man would be a censor,
he’d just laugh.
But censors, being dead men,
have a stern eye on life.
—That thing’s alive! It’s dangerous.
Make away with it!—
And when the execution is performed
you hear the stertorous, self-righteous heavy
breathing of the dead men,
the censors, breathing with relief.
DH Lawrence, “Censors”
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Monday, 21 May 2012
Zuma in perspective.
The crucial connection comes through an evolutionary phenomenon that began as our ancestors encountered inequality in wealth, power, and reproductive opportunities, and which disposes some men to behave in reckless, risky, and violent ways. You might call it "the problem with men," and though it's not something that manifests in all males, it is endemically masculine, and at its most extreme it can poison societies. But, much as we have dealt with obesity epidemics not by blaming obesity sufferers but by understanding the ways that evolved human physiology and psychology can create innate vulnerabilities, so too can a better understanding this evolutionary phenomenon help us to deter its damage.
(...)
Despite a few significant holdouts, polygamy continues to dwindle. There are still Jacob Zumas in the world who use "tradition" to shield their polygamist privilege, much as the mega-rich can usually be counted on to venerate wealth and promote inequality. But millennia of evolution ensure that polygyny and inequality will always stir violent competition and risky behavior among men and the oppression of women. Fortunately, our sense of fairness also has evolutionary roots, as does our ability to cooperate for the greater good. And those better angels of our nature will consign polygyny and entrenched inequality -- and men like Jacob Zuma -- to the wrong side of history.
Zuma's Wives: How Humans Evolved a Link Between Inequality and Misogyny
Hat tip to Gus Silber @gussilber
(...)
Despite a few significant holdouts, polygamy continues to dwindle. There are still Jacob Zumas in the world who use "tradition" to shield their polygamist privilege, much as the mega-rich can usually be counted on to venerate wealth and promote inequality. But millennia of evolution ensure that polygyny and inequality will always stir violent competition and risky behavior among men and the oppression of women. Fortunately, our sense of fairness also has evolutionary roots, as does our ability to cooperate for the greater good. And those better angels of our nature will consign polygyny and entrenched inequality -- and men like Jacob Zuma -- to the wrong side of history.
Zuma's Wives: How Humans Evolved a Link Between Inequality and Misogyny
Hat tip to Gus Silber @gussilber
Information Aesthetics
I like that phrase, say it with me: Information Aesthetics. Not only data, but attractive data, visually at least. I think it's a kind of design holy grail, merging form and function seamlessly into something that anyone can understand.
Your common pie chart is an example of visually presenting information, anyone can do it, and thankfully, it still looks better than the spreadsheet. But of course we're talking about the lowest levels. On the higher levels of intelligent data visualisations, where you're being highly selective about colours and shapes and the associations people have, it stops being an infographic, and becomes .. almost a book, with stories to tell.
Enter Moritz Stefaner, who holds a B.Sc. in Cognitive Science and an M.A. in Interface Design. Right.
Notabilia:
Quote: "I came up with a tree visualization, where Article for Deletion discussion is represented by a thread starting at the bottom center. Each time a user recommends to keep, merge, or redirect the article a green segment leaning towards the left is added. Each time a user recommends to delete the article a red segment leaning towards the right is added. As the discussion progresses, the length of the segments as well as the angle slowly decay."
I have to point out this is example number 1, i did not select this topic:
Your common pie chart is an example of visually presenting information, anyone can do it, and thankfully, it still looks better than the spreadsheet. But of course we're talking about the lowest levels. On the higher levels of intelligent data visualisations, where you're being highly selective about colours and shapes and the associations people have, it stops being an infographic, and becomes .. almost a book, with stories to tell.
Enter Moritz Stefaner, who holds a B.Sc. in Cognitive Science and an M.A. in Interface Design. Right.
Notabilia:
I have to point out this is example number 1, i did not select this topic:
But you get the idea, a thread runs along with users arguing for deleting or keeping as a Wiki page. Clearly "Unusual sex acts" was dropped, but the single thread shows perfectly how the discussion went, arguments from keep, to delete, to keep, but clearly bending towards deletion.
Now this next graphic is what excited me, to quite a silly degree in fact.
Commissioned for Citibank *spit* the whole interactive bit is unfortunately not available, only screenshots. But my oh my, what an interesting story it tells. Who, how much, where to, and from, all with a single glance.
I'm not going to talk about the content, but if only all information was this easy to grasp.
http://moritz.stefaner.eu/
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Global Popularity 2012
Hat Tip to Gilad Atzmon Via Moonofalabama Comments.
Every year the BBC holds a worldwide opinion poll on the how several countries are perceived around the world. Each country is ranked either "positively" or "negatively" in terms of influence, essentially how much do they matter, and is their contribution good or bad?
The loser is obviously Iran with an average negative rating of 55%, and a positive of 16%. Pakistan came an unsurprising second last place at 51%, and North Korea and Isreal tying for third place at 50% of most negatively influential countries. Telling stuff.
I noted that South Africa was not in the list of respondent countries, so i was very surprised on page 26 to find that opinions on South Africa had been solicited. The global average view of South Africa's influence in the world? 37% positive and 25% negative, various regions displaying varying degrees of bias, Russia providing the highest percentage for the survey with 67% of them saying they have no opinion on us. Japan also shares their disdain.
We're a lot less popular than we were a year ago, clearly all the bad press is getting out to the international press. Unsurprising but clearly not ideal. Nigeria thinks we're great, but they like Isreal too, i truly wonder how a Nigerian perceives countries? SA = $? Likewise then for Isreal? Why does Nigeria like Isreal? It doesn't make sense. Mexico decided last year to hate us, going from 48% to 24% positive, in 1 year. I know of nothing to cause that, i (naively) thought Mexico had bigger problems?
http://www.deliberation.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/2012_bbc_country-rating-final-080512.pdf
Go read the full document, it's very enlightening, and while it doesn't address specifics of what has happened in the last year, it compares with the previous year's results, and seems to be a good reflection of how people see politics and world influence.
Every year the BBC holds a worldwide opinion poll on the how several countries are perceived around the world. Each country is ranked either "positively" or "negatively" in terms of influence, essentially how much do they matter, and is their contribution good or bad?
The loser is obviously Iran with an average negative rating of 55%, and a positive of 16%. Pakistan came an unsurprising second last place at 51%, and North Korea and Isreal tying for third place at 50% of most negatively influential countries. Telling stuff.
I noted that South Africa was not in the list of respondent countries, so i was very surprised on page 26 to find that opinions on South Africa had been solicited. The global average view of South Africa's influence in the world? 37% positive and 25% negative, various regions displaying varying degrees of bias, Russia providing the highest percentage for the survey with 67% of them saying they have no opinion on us. Japan also shares their disdain.
We're a lot less popular than we were a year ago, clearly all the bad press is getting out to the international press. Unsurprising but clearly not ideal. Nigeria thinks we're great, but they like Isreal too, i truly wonder how a Nigerian perceives countries? SA = $? Likewise then for Isreal? Why does Nigeria like Isreal? It doesn't make sense. Mexico decided last year to hate us, going from 48% to 24% positive, in 1 year. I know of nothing to cause that, i (naively) thought Mexico had bigger problems?
http://www.deliberation.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/2012_bbc_country-rating-final-080512.pdf
Go read the full document, it's very enlightening, and while it doesn't address specifics of what has happened in the last year, it compares with the previous year's results, and seems to be a good reflection of how people see politics and world influence.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Perspective
You are here. There. With every single known organism that has ever existed. And the sum total of all our efforts to impact the universe. All the money, time, energy, everything. Just a little blue dot. The dot displayed here is 200 million light years across, and includes the probable radius of radiowaves emitted over the last hundred odd years. The outer ring of this dot is composed of the static ramblings of simple folk who had discovered a new toy. Slightly inside the outer ring, aliens will be introduced to the radio chatter of WW1, WW2, and everything else before they hear our SETI calls.
I truly wonder if they'll bother to stick around long enough to reply??
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
A day in the life
So i tell people that when i'm riding along, my head is full of ... stuff. Music, thoughts, insights, commentaries and all sorts. And then i read THIS, and realised i really am not alone.
Following on from that article was another LINK, even better than the first.
So a few highlights:
Thought One: "I wonder how much those wing mirrors cost to replace?"
Thought Two: "Should I tear them off, punch them or just boot that mirror as I ride past?"
Through Three: "That meathead should really get new tires, driving around with them completely bald must be pretty dangerous."
Thought Four: "Oh look, he's getting out of his car. Do you think he realizes I'm wearing head-to-toe body armor and the carbon fiber equivalent of brass knuckles?"
Thought Five: "Man, car drivers are an angry people. They sure do shout into their phones a lot."
Thought Six: "It's not my fault you have to sit in traffic. In fact, by not contributing to congestion, I'm making your wait incrementally shorter. You should be thanking me."
Thought Seven: "If you like that phone so much, then why'd you make me take it from you and throw it over that barbwire fence?"
Thought Eight: "Are red lights and stop signs really that hard to see?
Thought Nine: "I wonder if there's a correspondence between road rage and Clear Channel listening?"
Thought Ten: "Diet and exercise. Diet and exercise. Diet and exercise."
Thought Eleven: [just making the sound a sheep makes inside your helmet]
Thought Twelve: "This would all be a lot easier if people just looked where they were going."
Thought Thirteen: "Good job, accelerating wildly like that netted you one place in traffic and cost you about $10 in gas."
Thought Fourteen: "You know, you don't have to sit in traffic either. Learning to ride isn't that hard."
Thought Fifteen: "Did your dad never teach you how to drive in the rain? Following that close is a really bad idea."
Thought Sixteen: "You realize that if I tear off your door/mirror/aerial/headlight/whatever, it's a matter for the insurance companies, but if you hit me, you're going to jail, right?"
Thought Seventeen: "Man, it's nice out today."
Thought Eighteen: "Let's see. 100 HP and 400 Lbs or 160 HP and 4,000 Lbs. Who's going to win this race?"
Thought Nineteen: "Wouldn't it be nice if cops wrote tickets for bad driving instead of just speeding? That way, the roads might actually be safe and stuff."
Thought Twenty: "Screw this, I'm outta here."
Following on from that article was another LINK, even better than the first.
So a few highlights:
Thought One: "I wonder how much those wing mirrors cost to replace?"
Thought Two: "Should I tear them off, punch them or just boot that mirror as I ride past?"
Through Three: "That meathead should really get new tires, driving around with them completely bald must be pretty dangerous."
Thought Four: "Oh look, he's getting out of his car. Do you think he realizes I'm wearing head-to-toe body armor and the carbon fiber equivalent of brass knuckles?"
Thought Five: "Man, car drivers are an angry people. They sure do shout into their phones a lot."
Thought Six: "It's not my fault you have to sit in traffic. In fact, by not contributing to congestion, I'm making your wait incrementally shorter. You should be thanking me."
Thought Seven: "If you like that phone so much, then why'd you make me take it from you and throw it over that barbwire fence?"
Thought Eight: "Are red lights and stop signs really that hard to see?
Thought Nine: "I wonder if there's a correspondence between road rage and Clear Channel listening?"
Thought Ten: "Diet and exercise. Diet and exercise. Diet and exercise."
Thought Eleven: [just making the sound a sheep makes inside your helmet]
Thought Twelve: "This would all be a lot easier if people just looked where they were going."
Thought Thirteen: "Good job, accelerating wildly like that netted you one place in traffic and cost you about $10 in gas."
Thought Fourteen: "You know, you don't have to sit in traffic either. Learning to ride isn't that hard."
Thought Fifteen: "Did your dad never teach you how to drive in the rain? Following that close is a really bad idea."
Thought Sixteen: "You realize that if I tear off your door/mirror/aerial/headlight/whatever, it's a matter for the insurance companies, but if you hit me, you're going to jail, right?"
Thought Seventeen: "Man, it's nice out today."
Thought Eighteen: "Let's see. 100 HP and 400 Lbs or 160 HP and 4,000 Lbs. Who's going to win this race?"
Thought Nineteen: "Wouldn't it be nice if cops wrote tickets for bad driving instead of just speeding? That way, the roads might actually be safe and stuff."
Thought Twenty: "Screw this, I'm outta here."
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Yay
SO my silence has been part quietness, but a bigger part blogger not letting me log in. So yay, somebody fixed something. I have had many experiences since i last posted here, and many thoughts and ideas ... and thankfully, many many moments of intense beauty.
Life has been abundant, and i am sated with good foods, good company, and travels and adventures too. Tomorrow is back to the daily grind, i may actually survive it for the next ... however long till holidays again :-D
I have many photos, and thanks to OneStonedCrow and others sharing their travels, i feel obliged to overload your bandwidth. My only disappointment is that i never get to use a camera anymore, 2 cameras and 3 kids ... well you see the problem :) Photography remains my passion, and i'm delighted to find children experimenting with light, although this "take a picture and look at it" still confounds me.
Ok, i can't upload a pic :/
Watch this space .....
peace and love and laughter and light
Life has been abundant, and i am sated with good foods, good company, and travels and adventures too. Tomorrow is back to the daily grind, i may actually survive it for the next ... however long till holidays again :-D
I have many photos, and thanks to OneStonedCrow and others sharing their travels, i feel obliged to overload your bandwidth. My only disappointment is that i never get to use a camera anymore, 2 cameras and 3 kids ... well you see the problem :) Photography remains my passion, and i'm delighted to find children experimenting with light, although this "take a picture and look at it" still confounds me.
Ok, i can't upload a pic :/
Watch this space .....
peace and love and laughter and light
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Laws and morals
“ I live by morals, I don’t live by laws,” he went on. “Laws are something made by assholes. ”
- George Hotz, Sony, and the Anonymous Hacker Wars
- George Hotz, Sony, and the Anonymous Hacker Wars
Monday, 30 April 2012
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Monday, 23 April 2012
Marley on love
Bob Marley on how to love a woman
“You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She’s not perfect - you aren’t either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break - her heart. So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyze and don’t expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there.”
- Bob Marley
“You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She’s not perfect - you aren’t either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break - her heart. So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyze and don’t expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there.”
- Bob Marley
Conspiracy of whores
Conspiracy of whores
By John Grant
Whore: (verb) To debase oneself by doing something for unworthy motives, typically to make money.
-The New Oxford American Dictionary
“Despite all of the efforts, the immense efforts, the huge costs, we have to recognize that the illicit drug business is prospering,” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos told the attending leaders. He even advocated a process of decriminalization, though he recognized this was only a “starting point to begin a discussion that we have been postponing for far too long.”
This is real news.
Our Drug War is a military/police enterprise focused on attacking the supply of drugs coming from Latin America. Santos seems to concede it’s a dismal failure. He also knows the accumulated conditions of that failure are so entrenched in the hemisphere that it’s hard to even begin to discuss a way out.
______________________________________________________________
Drugs and sex and war, and the core values of the USA. A must read article.
By John Grant
Whore: (verb) To debase oneself by doing something for unworthy motives, typically to make money.
-The New Oxford American Dictionary
“Despite all of the efforts, the immense efforts, the huge costs, we have to recognize that the illicit drug business is prospering,” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos told the attending leaders. He even advocated a process of decriminalization, though he recognized this was only a “starting point to begin a discussion that we have been postponing for far too long.”
This is real news.
Our Drug War is a military/police enterprise focused on attacking the supply of drugs coming from Latin America. Santos seems to concede it’s a dismal failure. He also knows the accumulated conditions of that failure are so entrenched in the hemisphere that it’s hard to even begin to discuss a way out.
______________________________________________________________
Drugs and sex and war, and the core values of the USA. A must read article.
Friday, 20 April 2012
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
This ...
This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.
— Walt Whitman
— Walt Whitman
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Smart man
“I despise modern music. Words cannot express how much it gets on my nerves – the false, pretentious, smug assertiveness of it. I hate business, having to deal with money. Money is one of the most hateful inventions of the human race. I hate the commodity culture, in which everything is bought and sold. No stone is left unturned. I hate the mass media, and how passively people suck up to it.” — R. Crumb
And i hate even more how ready people are to defend this murderous, sick system, usually based on some misconceived notion of temporary convenience, or comfort.
And i hate even more how ready people are to defend this murderous, sick system, usually based on some misconceived notion of temporary convenience, or comfort.
The post itself and the image are violent, and i wondered where'd the peace and love bit go.
If you're not angry, you're not paying attention to the people around you.
Monday, 16 April 2012
What is freedom?
The condition of being free of restraints.
Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression.
Political independence.
Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty: freedom of assembly.
Exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition: freedom from want.
The capacity to exercise choice; free will: We have the freedom to do as we please all afternoon.
Ease or facility of movement: loose sports clothing, giving the wearer freedom.
Frankness or boldness; lack of modesty or reserve: the new freedom in movies and novels.
The right to unrestricted use; full access: was given the freedom of their research facilities.
The right of enjoying all of the privileges of membership or citizenship: the freedom of the city.
A right or the power to engage in certain actions without control or interference:
“the seductive freedoms and excesses of the picaresque form” (John W. Aldridge)
Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression.
Political independence.
Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty: freedom of assembly.
Exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition: freedom from want.
The capacity to exercise choice; free will: We have the freedom to do as we please all afternoon.
Ease or facility of movement: loose sports clothing, giving the wearer freedom.
Frankness or boldness; lack of modesty or reserve: the new freedom in movies and novels.
The right to unrestricted use; full access: was given the freedom of their research facilities.
The right of enjoying all of the privileges of membership or citizenship: the freedom of the city.
A right or the power to engage in certain actions without control or interference:
“the seductive freedoms and excesses of the picaresque form” (John W. Aldridge)
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Girls Around Me
No, not me. I have a iakon mumble with monoscreen, no camera or web or anything useful, except a torch. But if you have a superdupermultifunctionalblackboxwithaddedtelephone, then perhaps you should pay attention to what it can do, or what can be done with it, or which box contains pandora's secrets, and unknowns.
This Creepy App Isn’t Just Stalking Women Without Their Knowledge, It’s A Wake-Up Call About Facebook Privacy [Update]
And (imho) a dull and stupid response. The response i post only to try be fair, but it's unfortunately just rubbish, which missed the point of the first article entirely.
A quick precis: there's an app you can download, which grabs publically available data and collates it for your convenience. Nothing wrong there. But the information is about other people, who they are, and where they are on a realtime basis. The ultimate point of the article is: how many of the "girls" realise they have allowed to be tracked realtime to a bar, by someone who can know their entire posted life history, without ever meeting them before?
The 2nd link stated that people want to be that connected, 24/7 everytime, but i think we need to ask those people concerned whether they even knew it was happening? I tried to post somewhere, and it asked for my permission TO POST ON MY BEHALF ... so i hit the X button fast. WTF, not even posting my stuff, but assuming my identity and posting stuff i won't even know about, until i look, that strikes me as STUPID.
I wonder how many people even read that?
It's just about being careful. On irc once i got given an email address by someone who should have been more careful. I explained that being careful was really REALLY important, on the phone to them about 2 minutes after i got the mail. Was their work number too. Thankfully, they wized up fast, so many others, like my own damn kids, have no idea how fast data is moving now, and what can be done to them, and in their name, without even realising its possibility.
This Creepy App Isn’t Just Stalking Women Without Their Knowledge, It’s A Wake-Up Call About Facebook Privacy [Update]
And (imho) a dull and stupid response. The response i post only to try be fair, but it's unfortunately just rubbish, which missed the point of the first article entirely.
A quick precis: there's an app you can download, which grabs publically available data and collates it for your convenience. Nothing wrong there. But the information is about other people, who they are, and where they are on a realtime basis. The ultimate point of the article is: how many of the "girls" realise they have allowed to be tracked realtime to a bar, by someone who can know their entire posted life history, without ever meeting them before?
The 2nd link stated that people want to be that connected, 24/7 everytime, but i think we need to ask those people concerned whether they even knew it was happening? I tried to post somewhere, and it asked for my permission TO POST ON MY BEHALF ... so i hit the X button fast. WTF, not even posting my stuff, but assuming my identity and posting stuff i won't even know about, until i look, that strikes me as STUPID.
I wonder how many people even read that?
It's just about being careful. On irc once i got given an email address by someone who should have been more careful. I explained that being careful was really REALLY important, on the phone to them about 2 minutes after i got the mail. Was their work number too. Thankfully, they wized up fast, so many others, like my own damn kids, have no idea how fast data is moving now, and what can be done to them, and in their name, without even realising its possibility.
Freethinkers
"Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking; where it is absent, discussion is apt to become worse than useless." -- Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoi - (1828-1910)
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
The subtlest fu is the strongest fu
Masterful!!
Taken from BoingBoing and received via Twitter. NYC subway, some kind of domestic dispute, but the guy with the chips is just SO cool. He'd beat Chuck Norris with only a bag of chips!! LOL
Click the link too, and see the comments, where i got the title from, some excellent comments!!
Well done dude.
Taken from BoingBoing and received via Twitter. NYC subway, some kind of domestic dispute, but the guy with the chips is just SO cool. He'd beat Chuck Norris with only a bag of chips!! LOL
Click the link too, and see the comments, where i got the title from, some excellent comments!!
Well done dude.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Anonynous marijuana
Dear Citizens of the World
For far too long cannabis has been oppressed by big corporations, big pharma and governments when it could be benefiting all of mankind on many different levels. We have heard and we have watched your government lie and deceive you on all the dangers of cannabis. Show support by making your profile pictures green this April 20th on your social network profiles.
OpCannabis phase 1, initiated. We are Anonymous.....Expect us.
Attention individual people, governments, companies and fellow Anons!
We are Anonymous and we have an important message for you:
Plato said that it was ok to tell a lie ONLY if it truly benefits all of mankind. Plato called this lie the "noble lie." For far too long there has been a lie that has been perpetrated but it is neither noble nor does it benefit all of mankind, actually quite the opposite... the cannabis plant is one of the world's oldest and best medicines that has been known as beneficial for thousands of years!
It can replace many medicines and can be made into many different things such as plastics and fuels and paints etc. The bounds of this plant are limitless, we ALL are effected by illness such as cancer, diabetes, Crohn's disease, chronic pain, mental illness, alcohol abuse and a myriad of other physical and mental disorders. Cannabis had been proven over and over to help or even cure and reverse the effects of these diseases that will affect us all at some point in our life!
Yet it is kept from the people who need its curing powers by governments, big corporations, by big pharmaceutical companies because it is a threat to the money they make! They make more money off you being sick so they do not want you to have a cure, these people do not truly care about your wellbeing only the money they will make from your illness!
Since it is an easily grown plant that can be grown freely by anyone they have made it an illegal Schedule I drug. Cannabis has been oppressed by the powers that be that are afraid of its true benefits, and these benefits do help all of mankind!
So cannabis fits the criteria for Anonymous' support. We ask that all Anons and individuals please support the legalization efforts in any way possible! Even simply signing a petition or sharing info or even just having an open mind about the subject will help!
We ask you to please educate yourself on its many benefits and share these benefits with your sick or injured friends. We all know somebody that has cancer or diabetes and cannabis has helped or cured both and many other disorders!
Anonymous will begin its support for the legalization of marijuana on 4/20/12. So please show your support by educating yourselves and making your profile pic or timeline banner on your social services accts green or 420 friendly.
We have all seen the power of the SOPA blackout so Anonymous feels that we can help cure the world simply by everyone showing their support for this most beneficial plant! We must end the prohibition of cannabis!!
These oppressors make trillions of dollars off of the war on drugs by keeping their privately owned jails overcrowded with nonviolent drug offenders! We are approaching the 11 billion dollar mark that the government has spent on the drug war this year alone and have put millions of nonviolent offenders behind bars. This is a true crime against humanity and needs to end!
Saying cannabis is a dangerous drug and is not a medicine is NOT a noble lie... it is simply a lie!
WE ARE ANONYMOUS.
WE ARE LEGION for legalization!
WE DO NOT FORGIVE the crimes of the War on Drugs.
WE DO NOT FORGET our brothers + sisters locked up because of it.
EXPECT US.
#Occupy420
#April20
#OpCannabis
Happy monday, um tuesday. Nice start to the week either way ... watch this space?
For far too long cannabis has been oppressed by big corporations, big pharma and governments when it could be benefiting all of mankind on many different levels. We have heard and we have watched your government lie and deceive you on all the dangers of cannabis. Show support by making your profile pictures green this April 20th on your social network profiles.
OpCannabis phase 1, initiated. We are Anonymous.....Expect us.
Attention individual people, governments, companies and fellow Anons!
We are Anonymous and we have an important message for you:
Plato said that it was ok to tell a lie ONLY if it truly benefits all of mankind. Plato called this lie the "noble lie." For far too long there has been a lie that has been perpetrated but it is neither noble nor does it benefit all of mankind, actually quite the opposite... the cannabis plant is one of the world's oldest and best medicines that has been known as beneficial for thousands of years!
It can replace many medicines and can be made into many different things such as plastics and fuels and paints etc. The bounds of this plant are limitless, we ALL are effected by illness such as cancer, diabetes, Crohn's disease, chronic pain, mental illness, alcohol abuse and a myriad of other physical and mental disorders. Cannabis had been proven over and over to help or even cure and reverse the effects of these diseases that will affect us all at some point in our life!
Yet it is kept from the people who need its curing powers by governments, big corporations, by big pharmaceutical companies because it is a threat to the money they make! They make more money off you being sick so they do not want you to have a cure, these people do not truly care about your wellbeing only the money they will make from your illness!
Since it is an easily grown plant that can be grown freely by anyone they have made it an illegal Schedule I drug. Cannabis has been oppressed by the powers that be that are afraid of its true benefits, and these benefits do help all of mankind!
So cannabis fits the criteria for Anonymous' support. We ask that all Anons and individuals please support the legalization efforts in any way possible! Even simply signing a petition or sharing info or even just having an open mind about the subject will help!
We ask you to please educate yourself on its many benefits and share these benefits with your sick or injured friends. We all know somebody that has cancer or diabetes and cannabis has helped or cured both and many other disorders!
Anonymous will begin its support for the legalization of marijuana on 4/20/12. So please show your support by educating yourselves and making your profile pic or timeline banner on your social services accts green or 420 friendly.
We have all seen the power of the SOPA blackout so Anonymous feels that we can help cure the world simply by everyone showing their support for this most beneficial plant! We must end the prohibition of cannabis!!
These oppressors make trillions of dollars off of the war on drugs by keeping their privately owned jails overcrowded with nonviolent drug offenders! We are approaching the 11 billion dollar mark that the government has spent on the drug war this year alone and have put millions of nonviolent offenders behind bars. This is a true crime against humanity and needs to end!
Saying cannabis is a dangerous drug and is not a medicine is NOT a noble lie... it is simply a lie!
WE ARE ANONYMOUS.
WE ARE LEGION for legalization!
WE DO NOT FORGIVE the crimes of the War on Drugs.
WE DO NOT FORGET our brothers + sisters locked up because of it.
EXPECT US.
#Occupy420
#April20
#OpCannabis
Happy monday, um tuesday. Nice start to the week either way ... watch this space?
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Teaching a child
"One of the hardest things to teach a child is that the truth is more important than the consequences." - O. A. Battista -
Orlando Aloysius Battista 1917-1995, Canadian-American chemist and author
Orlando Aloysius Battista 1917-1995, Canadian-American chemist and author
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Troll tactics
Sometimes i think someone is taking the piss out of all of us, and other times i'm certain of it.
Sanral: E-tags compulsory
Sanral: E-tags won't be compulsory
Same source, same day.
There is no law that says you need an e-tag for anything, they're working very hard at changing that. Denial is only stage 1.
Sanral: E-tags compulsory
Sanral: E-tags won't be compulsory
Same source, same day.
"Sanral would like to clarify to road users that it is not compulsory for road users to buy an e-tag for Gauteng e-tolling. Registering with an e-tag is optional," it said in a statement.Yes, for now. It is truly infuriating how they dance around the issues, like a fraking mosquito at night ... buzzing away and sucking your blood until you look at it really hard, then suddenly it's on the other side of the room.
There is no law that says you need an e-tag for anything, they're working very hard at changing that. Denial is only stage 1.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Rhino horn madness
I posted the other day about some guys caught in bedfordview with rhino horn, which turned out to be made of wood, and then this morning, i see this article, Poacher dehorns fibreglass rhino.
I know it's been said many, many times before, but really, what the freak is wrong with people????
I know it's been said many, many times before, but really, what the freak is wrong with people????
Friday, 30 March 2012
Government and us
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force. " : Ayn Rand in "The Nature of Government"
And after posting the above, i received this story:
KNYSNA NEWS - The peace-loving Rastafarian community members of Judah Square are currently consulting with their legal representatives regarding a possible class action lawsuit against the Minister of Police after an early morning SAPS raid at 06:00 on Tuesday, March 27.
According to traumatised and furious eyewitnesses, at least seventeen police vans and more than 50 police officers from different strike teams were used to raid the Rastafarians while several were attending their morning devotions in their tabernacle.
....
"Funny that the police come to us who they know is a soft target and unarmed, but they have to drive past several Tik homes where there are 'skollies' with 'gunne', to get to us, huh?" said one of the protestors outside Knysna's court on Tuesday. The crowd said they were becoming increasingly frustrated by continued police action against them while a blind eye is turned to serious drug dealers. The same group of residents returned the next day, on Wednesday, to wait for the release of their chief and fellow Judah Square residents.
THE STAGE OF RULE BY BRUTE FORCE.
And after posting the above, i received this story:
KNYSNA NEWS - The peace-loving Rastafarian community members of Judah Square are currently consulting with their legal representatives regarding a possible class action lawsuit against the Minister of Police after an early morning SAPS raid at 06:00 on Tuesday, March 27.
According to traumatised and furious eyewitnesses, at least seventeen police vans and more than 50 police officers from different strike teams were used to raid the Rastafarians while several were attending their morning devotions in their tabernacle.
....
"Funny that the police come to us who they know is a soft target and unarmed, but they have to drive past several Tik homes where there are 'skollies' with 'gunne', to get to us, huh?" said one of the protestors outside Knysna's court on Tuesday. The crowd said they were becoming increasingly frustrated by continued police action against them while a blind eye is turned to serious drug dealers. The same group of residents returned the next day, on Wednesday, to wait for the release of their chief and fellow Judah Square residents.
THE STAGE OF RULE BY BRUTE FORCE.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Toll roads in SA, a short history
Reproduced here in it's entirety, my thanks to CharlesVan Onselen who is a research professor at the University of Pretoria for his excellent article, and Business Day for publishing it.
BACK in 1886, the discovery of huge reefs of gold on the Witwatersrand caught state president SJP (Paul) Kruger by surprise. The fiercely nationalist but extremely poorly educated Boers of the South African Republic (ZAR) had only just regained their independence from Britain. The earlier, modest mineral discoveries around Barberton scarcely prepared him or his political constituency — made up largely of farmers — for the dramatic influx of foreigners into the country or for the transition from an agrarian to a more industrialised economy. The spectacular growth of Johannesburg, in particular, demanded an infrastructure capable of servicing a modern economy and an urbanising society. A poorly equipped administration, supported by a coterie of handpicked Dutch experts, managed as best it could.
Complex regional politics militated against the rapid development of an integrated railway system capable of delivering mining machinery to the Rand cheaply or efficiently. It was not until 1895 that the ZAR was fully connected to the emerging, regional rail network. A reliance on Afrikaner transport riders using ox wagons to bring in building materials, clothing and food supplies from the coast or the countryside contributed to Johannesburg’s high cost of living. Long-haul transport riders encountered increasing difficulty in obtaining grazing for oxen on overnight stops, while the condition of the roads, scandalously neglected, deteriorated.
Throughout 1886- 95, the Kruger administration remained under pressure from the mining industry and organised commerce to facilitate the arrival of the railways on the Rand. By the time the president got around to dealing with the problem, however, the mining industry was already in a short-lived recession caused by technical problems encountered in the gold-recovery process. He nevertheless persisted with plans for a nation- wide system of road tolls, primarily to raise revenue for the always hard-pressed treasury and, secondarily, to secure an improvement in the quality of the rutted highways. In late 1891, it was announced in the Government Gazette that, from December 1, ox wagons carrying loads of up to 6000lbs (about 2700kg) would be liable to a toll of 30 shillings on all main routes.
Lacking the administrative competence or expertise to run the system, the state looked instead to the market and private enterprise to manage the tolls. The right to collect tolls at stipulated points was put out to tender, with winning bidders being left to manage the risk of making a profit or sustaining a loss. Despite it being a hazardous business, scores of tenders were awarded and toll collectors appointed. The tolls, for some time, produced a handsome return. In just four months in 1894, for example, the state benefited to the tune of more than £9000 — the equivalent of between £4m and £5m (R46m-R58m) a year in current terms.
Right from the outset, however, tolls proved to be deeply unpopular. In urban areas, tolls were objected to because, it was claimed, they increased the cost of capital goods as well as food. They no doubt did; but Pretoria was always inclined to view Johannesburg as more of a cash cow than a city entitled to independent management. The mayor was appointed from the centre, by the government, not elected by the citizens.
Farmers and transport riders, too, objected for equally obvious reasons and, despite their cause being championed by a faction within the Volksraad that was increasingly opposed to Kruger, the president and his cabinet remained obdurately opposed to the abolition of the tolls or a meaningful reduction in charges. In practice, the system proved difficult to manage. It was the subject of endless complaints. Requests for exemption necessitated the appointment of additional clerks, thus swelling a public service not renowned for its efficiency, honesty, literacy or responsiveness. Some toll collectors let friends through without levying charges while others pocketed part of the proceeds. In some quarters, deep suspicions were aroused about where precisely the fees were going and few users seemed convinced the system benefited them. It was not clear the huge returns from tolls were producing a startling improvement in the quality of the existing roads, or funding new ones.
It was in the countryside, or on the outskirts of the city itself, however, where the system ran into its greatest opposition from the sons of the soil. Many farmers and transport riders would have nothing to do with them. They opened up new, often circuitous tracks and minor roads, circumventing existing drifts and highways, thereby giving rise to new problems of grazing, right of way and environmental degradation. Others drove directly through the gates, refusing to render payment for a system they deemed to be in conflict with natural justice. Landdrosts — the magistrates — were kept busy corresponding with their superiors and it proved difficult to estimate what secondary, indirect costs amounted to.
Two of the most hated tolls, however, could not easily be avoided. One of them lay on the road connecting the rich farming district from which Kruger hailed — Rustenburg — to the market at Pretoria, via the intervening Magaliesberg. A formidable toll house stood astride the natural constriction in the pass at Daspoort. The other was at Ferreira’s Battery, on the Kimberley Road exit from Johannesburg. They were the subject of endless complaints but the Kruger administration refused relief to regular users.
In April 1894, amidst an economic upswing, a party of masked Boers set out from the Rustenburg district for Daspoort, using a road that had previously been favoured by Irish highwaymen who had, some months earlier, held up and robbed a post cart of an enormous sum of cash. At the toll, the Boers overpowered the collector and dynamited the toll house. About 12 months later, the toll gate at Ferreira’s was also burnt to the ground under mysterious circumstances. The police, patriotic to the core, had no success in tracking down the perpetrators who, chances were, were all burghers. The ZAR tolling system — attacked, cheated, circumvented and sabotaged — did not collapse in the face of political objections from voters or popular resistance from road users. It may, however, have cost Kruger the votes of several farmers and transport riders in the 1893 presidential elections, which he won by the slimmest of margins.
The eclipse of the tolls was occasioned instead by technological advance in the shape of an integrated national railway system in 1895. With the switch from road to rail transport, tolls became less profitable and, in the end, economically unviable. In 1896, the government, acknowledging the advent of a new era, abandoned road tolls.
All of this prompts a few questions besides the fundamental one about "who owns the roads" and, can they bought and sold and, if so, who bears the profit or the loss?
Can states that lack administrative competence and easy access to an educated workforce ever manage tolling systems without the assistance of private enterprise and state- of-the-art technology? Are most of the funds raised from tolls ever fully employed to underwrite the maintenance or extension of the national road network? How are road and rail systems best integrated, and in what order are they best developed? Is the introduction of a system of road tolls an acknowledgment of failure, or a sign of success — is the economic tide rising or falling? Are tolling systems ever abandoned and, if so, when and why? What constitutes a fair toll and what are the estimates of attrition of revenue as a result of theft — either directly by the private operators, or from treasuries plundering funds for other projects? Or is the system foolproof? Is a state that introduces road tolls succeeding or failing?
These are enduring questions; most of them have been around since tolls were introduced at bridges in medieval times.
Governments come and go, ox wagon or pantechnicon, the game seems to remains the same. Answers — on postcards only please — to Pretoria, and then go out and vote as you see fit.
BACK in 1886, the discovery of huge reefs of gold on the Witwatersrand caught state president SJP (Paul) Kruger by surprise. The fiercely nationalist but extremely poorly educated Boers of the South African Republic (ZAR) had only just regained their independence from Britain. The earlier, modest mineral discoveries around Barberton scarcely prepared him or his political constituency — made up largely of farmers — for the dramatic influx of foreigners into the country or for the transition from an agrarian to a more industrialised economy. The spectacular growth of Johannesburg, in particular, demanded an infrastructure capable of servicing a modern economy and an urbanising society. A poorly equipped administration, supported by a coterie of handpicked Dutch experts, managed as best it could.
Complex regional politics militated against the rapid development of an integrated railway system capable of delivering mining machinery to the Rand cheaply or efficiently. It was not until 1895 that the ZAR was fully connected to the emerging, regional rail network. A reliance on Afrikaner transport riders using ox wagons to bring in building materials, clothing and food supplies from the coast or the countryside contributed to Johannesburg’s high cost of living. Long-haul transport riders encountered increasing difficulty in obtaining grazing for oxen on overnight stops, while the condition of the roads, scandalously neglected, deteriorated.
Throughout 1886- 95, the Kruger administration remained under pressure from the mining industry and organised commerce to facilitate the arrival of the railways on the Rand. By the time the president got around to dealing with the problem, however, the mining industry was already in a short-lived recession caused by technical problems encountered in the gold-recovery process. He nevertheless persisted with plans for a nation- wide system of road tolls, primarily to raise revenue for the always hard-pressed treasury and, secondarily, to secure an improvement in the quality of the rutted highways. In late 1891, it was announced in the Government Gazette that, from December 1, ox wagons carrying loads of up to 6000lbs (about 2700kg) would be liable to a toll of 30 shillings on all main routes.
Lacking the administrative competence or expertise to run the system, the state looked instead to the market and private enterprise to manage the tolls. The right to collect tolls at stipulated points was put out to tender, with winning bidders being left to manage the risk of making a profit or sustaining a loss. Despite it being a hazardous business, scores of tenders were awarded and toll collectors appointed. The tolls, for some time, produced a handsome return. In just four months in 1894, for example, the state benefited to the tune of more than £9000 — the equivalent of between £4m and £5m (R46m-R58m) a year in current terms.
Right from the outset, however, tolls proved to be deeply unpopular. In urban areas, tolls were objected to because, it was claimed, they increased the cost of capital goods as well as food. They no doubt did; but Pretoria was always inclined to view Johannesburg as more of a cash cow than a city entitled to independent management. The mayor was appointed from the centre, by the government, not elected by the citizens.
Farmers and transport riders, too, objected for equally obvious reasons and, despite their cause being championed by a faction within the Volksraad that was increasingly opposed to Kruger, the president and his cabinet remained obdurately opposed to the abolition of the tolls or a meaningful reduction in charges. In practice, the system proved difficult to manage. It was the subject of endless complaints. Requests for exemption necessitated the appointment of additional clerks, thus swelling a public service not renowned for its efficiency, honesty, literacy or responsiveness. Some toll collectors let friends through without levying charges while others pocketed part of the proceeds. In some quarters, deep suspicions were aroused about where precisely the fees were going and few users seemed convinced the system benefited them. It was not clear the huge returns from tolls were producing a startling improvement in the quality of the existing roads, or funding new ones.
It was in the countryside, or on the outskirts of the city itself, however, where the system ran into its greatest opposition from the sons of the soil. Many farmers and transport riders would have nothing to do with them. They opened up new, often circuitous tracks and minor roads, circumventing existing drifts and highways, thereby giving rise to new problems of grazing, right of way and environmental degradation. Others drove directly through the gates, refusing to render payment for a system they deemed to be in conflict with natural justice. Landdrosts — the magistrates — were kept busy corresponding with their superiors and it proved difficult to estimate what secondary, indirect costs amounted to.
Two of the most hated tolls, however, could not easily be avoided. One of them lay on the road connecting the rich farming district from which Kruger hailed — Rustenburg — to the market at Pretoria, via the intervening Magaliesberg. A formidable toll house stood astride the natural constriction in the pass at Daspoort. The other was at Ferreira’s Battery, on the Kimberley Road exit from Johannesburg. They were the subject of endless complaints but the Kruger administration refused relief to regular users.
In April 1894, amidst an economic upswing, a party of masked Boers set out from the Rustenburg district for Daspoort, using a road that had previously been favoured by Irish highwaymen who had, some months earlier, held up and robbed a post cart of an enormous sum of cash. At the toll, the Boers overpowered the collector and dynamited the toll house. About 12 months later, the toll gate at Ferreira’s was also burnt to the ground under mysterious circumstances. The police, patriotic to the core, had no success in tracking down the perpetrators who, chances were, were all burghers. The ZAR tolling system — attacked, cheated, circumvented and sabotaged — did not collapse in the face of political objections from voters or popular resistance from road users. It may, however, have cost Kruger the votes of several farmers and transport riders in the 1893 presidential elections, which he won by the slimmest of margins.
The eclipse of the tolls was occasioned instead by technological advance in the shape of an integrated national railway system in 1895. With the switch from road to rail transport, tolls became less profitable and, in the end, economically unviable. In 1896, the government, acknowledging the advent of a new era, abandoned road tolls.
All of this prompts a few questions besides the fundamental one about "who owns the roads" and, can they bought and sold and, if so, who bears the profit or the loss?
Can states that lack administrative competence and easy access to an educated workforce ever manage tolling systems without the assistance of private enterprise and state- of-the-art technology? Are most of the funds raised from tolls ever fully employed to underwrite the maintenance or extension of the national road network? How are road and rail systems best integrated, and in what order are they best developed? Is the introduction of a system of road tolls an acknowledgment of failure, or a sign of success — is the economic tide rising or falling? Are tolling systems ever abandoned and, if so, when and why? What constitutes a fair toll and what are the estimates of attrition of revenue as a result of theft — either directly by the private operators, or from treasuries plundering funds for other projects? Or is the system foolproof? Is a state that introduces road tolls succeeding or failing?
These are enduring questions; most of them have been around since tolls were introduced at bridges in medieval times.
Governments come and go, ox wagon or pantechnicon, the game seems to remains the same. Answers — on postcards only please — to Pretoria, and then go out and vote as you see fit.
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Web traffic
Thank you Missy2000.
Also note 2 new favourite blogs on the right under transport, Numero 13 and Axis of Oversteer. Very cool petrol head blogs with awesome images, thanks guys.
Monday, 26 March 2012
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Friday, 23 March 2012
Insurgent citizenship
“The title we used for the research we did was The Smoke That Calls. We used this because during our research people said to us: ‘We feel that violence is the only language that this government understands. They will only come when they see the smoke’,” says Mogapi about research done by the CSVR last year into why people engage in collective violence.
Mogapi says vigilantism is an indicator of communities getting increasing despondent about government, failed service delivery and who are losing hope. She says the charred bodies in Khayelitsha are a signifier that people feel they have exhausted all avenues of communication, and that the only language that will “work” is violence.
“There is an increasing sense from society that the only language our government and society understands is violence,” says Mogapi. “When there is violence there is a huge reaction from society, whether it be the media or government at large. When people try peaceful ways of raising their issues, there is usually a very limited response.”
Mogapi says vigilantism is an indicator of communities getting increasing despondent about government, failed service delivery and who are losing hope. She says the charred bodies in Khayelitsha are a signifier that people feel they have exhausted all avenues of communication, and that the only language that will “work” is violence.
“There is an increasing sense from society that the only language our government and society understands is violence,” says Mogapi. “When there is violence there is a huge reaction from society, whether it be the media or government at large. When people try peaceful ways of raising their issues, there is usually a very limited response.”
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Friday, 16 March 2012
Deception
"Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur," a Latin phrase, means "The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived." The saying is ascribed to Petronius, a Roman satirist from the first century, CE. "The pontifex maximus Scævola thought it expedient that the people should be deceived in religion; and the learned Varro said plainly, that "there are many truths, which it is useless for the vulgar to know; and many falsities which it is fit the people should not suppose are falsities."
Hence comes the adage "Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur."
Hence comes the adage "Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur."
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Rats!
So we all know Jo'burg has a rat problem, i know at our house it's quite bad, and clearly walls do little to restrict them. So finally i've seen something that actually makes sense:
Johannesburg is introducing OWLS in an attempt to control the problem ... in conjunction with traps etc, but owls!
"The city has opted for the owl solution," he said.
"Owl nesting and release boxes have been installed in three schools in Alexandra as this three-year project will be educating schools on the role owls play in eradicating rats."
________________________________________________
Very cool, a positive approach that does reflect a more natural solution, and long term too. Maybe the owls can develope a taste for hardy-da flesh, that would be awesome ;-)
Pic courtesy of (and shamelessly stolen from) : Aquila ka Hecate (because it's a great pic!)
Johannesburg is introducing OWLS in an attempt to control the problem ... in conjunction with traps etc, but owls!
"The city has opted for the owl solution," he said.
"Owl nesting and release boxes have been installed in three schools in Alexandra as this three-year project will be educating schools on the role owls play in eradicating rats."
________________________________________________
Very cool, a positive approach that does reflect a more natural solution, and long term too. Maybe the owls can develope a taste for hardy-da flesh, that would be awesome ;-)
Pic courtesy of (and shamelessly stolen from) : Aquila ka Hecate (because it's a great pic!)
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Friday, 9 March 2012
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Orion training centre for people with disabilities
I found a happy news story, the Orion training centre for people with disabilities
Our proud projects:
a day care centre for 30 children – 18 months to 18 years old;
activity day care for profoundly disabled people over the age of 18 years old;
residential care facility for 60 disabled adults, including a semi-frail care home;
an art centre where the profoundly disabled can creatively express themselves by painting on canvasses. These artwork are being sold and exhibited.
two training work centres (income generating project) where low to high functioning disabled adults are taught a variety of skills with the aim to eventually place them into the open labour market.
As well as possible accommodation for 15 frail adults over the age of 60 as from April 2012 (awaiting final approval and finalisation of screening etc)
a day care centre for 30 children – 18 months to 18 years old;
activity day care for profoundly disabled people over the age of 18 years old;
residential care facility for 60 disabled adults, including a semi-frail care home;
an art centre where the profoundly disabled can creatively express themselves by painting on canvasses. These artwork are being sold and exhibited.
two training work centres (income generating project) where low to high functioning disabled adults are taught a variety of skills with the aim to eventually place them into the open labour market.
As well as possible accommodation for 15 frail adults over the age of 60 as from April 2012 (awaiting final approval and finalisation of screening etc)
And the artist:
The painting was done by Christopher Edwards (Down Syndrome) and his team who expressed how they perceive our community when it comes to the issue of alcohol and drug abuse. This particular art piece called “Drunken City” is currently used at our events when we address the abovementioned pillars.
Thank you Jonckie at Arrive Alive.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Sanity and truth
"Sanity is not truth. Sanity is conformity to what is socially expected.
Truth is sometimes in conformity, sometimes not."
- Robert M. Pirsig
Hat tip to CoyotePrime.
To illustrate this point, i offer a photograph.
Truth is sometimes in conformity, sometimes not."
- Robert M. Pirsig
Hat tip to CoyotePrime.
To illustrate this point, i offer a photograph.
From twitter, this morning. Comment is superfluous.
Kite surfing and shark fighting
Indeed.
Interview with Jan Lisewski about the attempt to cross Red Sea (extracts)
I’ve waited for a week in El Gouna near Hurghada for good conditions, for good wind. Such a forecast, for all day, was for 2nd of March. I started in wind of 4 in Bft scale, which has later reach 5 Bft. When there was around 60 km till destination, the wind has suddenly died, just like fire blown from a match. There was no wind, the kite collapsed. After 1,5 hours nothing indicated that the wind will come back. Waves have, however, started to build up. Sun was setting down, so I called SOS. After about 3 hours I called it again.
At first I’ll say that I owe surviving it to my brother Piotr, who forced me to take a knife. Maybe he had some kind of premonition. I was pushed by the wind to the worst place, a reef, where sharks have been preying. They were about 2,5 to 6 meters. They attacked me through my kite, which must’ve also attracted them because of its colour. I stabbed them in the eyes, nose and gills. The fight, which I’ve miraculously survived, took whole night.
Interview with Jan Lisewski about the attempt to cross Red Sea (extracts)
I’ve waited for a week in El Gouna near Hurghada for good conditions, for good wind. Such a forecast, for all day, was for 2nd of March. I started in wind of 4 in Bft scale, which has later reach 5 Bft. When there was around 60 km till destination, the wind has suddenly died, just like fire blown from a match. There was no wind, the kite collapsed. After 1,5 hours nothing indicated that the wind will come back. Waves have, however, started to build up. Sun was setting down, so I called SOS. After about 3 hours I called it again.
At first I’ll say that I owe surviving it to my brother Piotr, who forced me to take a knife. Maybe he had some kind of premonition. I was pushed by the wind to the worst place, a reef, where sharks have been preying. They were about 2,5 to 6 meters. They attacked me through my kite, which must’ve also attracted them because of its colour. I stabbed them in the eyes, nose and gills. The fight, which I’ve miraculously survived, took whole night.
Monday, 5 March 2012
This is your brain on a bike
Dr Ryuta Kawashima says:
Riding a motorcycle every day might actually keep your brain functioning at peak condition, or so says a study conducted by the University of Tokyo. The study demonstrated that riders between the age of 40 and 50 were shown to improve their levels of cognitive functioning, compared to a control group, after riding their motorcycles daily to their workplace for a mere two months.
The upshot was that the use of motorcycles in everyday life improved cognitive faculties, particularly those that relate to memory and spatial reasoning capacity. An added benefit? Participants revealed on questionnaires they filled out at the end of the study that their stress levels had been reduced and their mental state changed for the better.
Riding a motorcycle every day might actually keep your brain functioning at peak condition, or so says a study conducted by the University of Tokyo. The study demonstrated that riders between the age of 40 and 50 were shown to improve their levels of cognitive functioning, compared to a control group, after riding their motorcycles daily to their workplace for a mere two months.
The upshot was that the use of motorcycles in everyday life improved cognitive faculties, particularly those that relate to memory and spatial reasoning capacity. An added benefit? Participants revealed on questionnaires they filled out at the end of the study that their stress levels had been reduced and their mental state changed for the better.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Rhino poachers caught!
4 Rhino Poachers are being held at Bedfordview SAPS, opp NewsCafe, caught with Horn in possession. All Anti-Rhino poaching groups should descend and protest.
Thank you Pigspotter!!
I can't include images for some reason, but you can see the following:
Rhinohorn
Rhino Poachers
Apparently the horn was fake ... i have no words ... probably trying to con some rich guy.
Africa ...
Thank you Pigspotter!!
I can't include images for some reason, but you can see the following:
Rhinohorn
Rhino Poachers
Apparently the horn was fake ... i have no words ... probably trying to con some rich guy.
Africa ...
Monday, 27 February 2012
Child murderers
I found this story and couldn't put it down.
On Friday at 10am four teenagers held the Zwelihle High School Grade 8 and 9 classes at gunpoint.
One of the pupils, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, said the robbers demanded cash and cellphones from the pupils.
“We know these guys. They bully the schoolchildren all the time and steal their money and other valuables. They are known to attack pupils inside the school too.”
The pupil said that as the robbers brazenly made their way out of the school gate, the pupils decided to fight back.
“They confronted the robbers and asked them if their gun was working. They started running. This did not stop us. Everyone gave chase. We were all sick and tired of their bad habits.”
She said as the gang ran towards the Zamani informal settlement, pupils hurled stones at them and continued to chase them.
“Some of the pupils eventually caught them at the settlement. They started hitting them and pelting them with stones. More than 500 children were there.”
____________________________________________
Words catch in my throat ... all i can think is murderers ... i don't mean to punish them, that would be pointless. But each of those children now has blood in their hearts, they have killed. I can't even blame them, i blame the police, and teachers, who clearly haven't done anything up until now, but these children are children no longer.
Cry My Beloved Country.
On Friday at 10am four teenagers held the Zwelihle High School Grade 8 and 9 classes at gunpoint.
One of the pupils, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, said the robbers demanded cash and cellphones from the pupils.
“We know these guys. They bully the schoolchildren all the time and steal their money and other valuables. They are known to attack pupils inside the school too.”
The pupil said that as the robbers brazenly made their way out of the school gate, the pupils decided to fight back.
“They confronted the robbers and asked them if their gun was working. They started running. This did not stop us. Everyone gave chase. We were all sick and tired of their bad habits.”
She said as the gang ran towards the Zamani informal settlement, pupils hurled stones at them and continued to chase them.
“Some of the pupils eventually caught them at the settlement. They started hitting them and pelting them with stones. More than 500 children were there.”
____________________________________________
Words catch in my throat ... all i can think is murderers ... i don't mean to punish them, that would be pointless. But each of those children now has blood in their hearts, they have killed. I can't even blame them, i blame the police, and teachers, who clearly haven't done anything up until now, but these children are children no longer.
Cry My Beloved Country.
Dirty future
Since i had a dirty morning, with plug caps falling apart, this was hope springing eternal.
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Jeb Corliss Grounded
And in a less serious vein, and as follow up, i present Jeb Corliss' Table Mountain crash at 120MPH. Less serious because he survived ... he even pulled his chute, although not quickly enough it appears.
Bushmen and boere continued
So they did, AfriForum Youth and the Khoisan community presented a memorandum to the dept of land affairs yesterday. They applied for a march but were denied, someone pointed out: It's just another way the KhoiSan are descriminated against ... fair point.
Daily Maverick and News24 both had stories, the Maverick's is much better though.
This is fascinating, the ANC's only claim has been historical possesion, a claim which has always been very thin, but has proven highly effective against the boers, in this climate of political correction. However, the inherently racist ANC is now presented with a challenge that it is ill prepared to face. While the bushmen and boers share a common goal, that of their own land as promised to all by the constitution, the undermining of both groups has been easy, with the one labelled "colonialist invaders" and the other merely sidelined in the same manner as the apartheid government used against the blacks.
KhoiSan have never been media friendly, being too simple and generally ignorant of these things. That has led to them literally being swept under the carpet, by the old apartheid government, the new ANC government, the government of Botswana, and anyone else who thought them a bother. Similarly, the boer youth have had a problem winning any kind of sympathy, ans they are seen as "priviledged", despite the overwhelming odds against them lately. So we have the undisputed "heirs of africa" and a very media savvy white youth joining together to fight a common evil, correctly slated as worse than apartheid.
I look forward to more of this story. Pieter Mulder has taken a LOT of flak recently for his correct summation of the facts, highly inconvenient facts i'll grant, but undisputed history (except by the anc, they'll dispute anything if they feel like it). I hope he stands firm, and i suspect this issue is receiving far more interest in Europe than we suspect, from the Dutch and Belgians, who now really have a wedge with which to open the fallacy of the new south africa for all the world to see.
Daily Maverick and News24 both had stories, the Maverick's is much better though.
This is fascinating, the ANC's only claim has been historical possesion, a claim which has always been very thin, but has proven highly effective against the boers, in this climate of political correction. However, the inherently racist ANC is now presented with a challenge that it is ill prepared to face. While the bushmen and boers share a common goal, that of their own land as promised to all by the constitution, the undermining of both groups has been easy, with the one labelled "colonialist invaders" and the other merely sidelined in the same manner as the apartheid government used against the blacks.
KhoiSan have never been media friendly, being too simple and generally ignorant of these things. That has led to them literally being swept under the carpet, by the old apartheid government, the new ANC government, the government of Botswana, and anyone else who thought them a bother. Similarly, the boer youth have had a problem winning any kind of sympathy, ans they are seen as "priviledged", despite the overwhelming odds against them lately. So we have the undisputed "heirs of africa" and a very media savvy white youth joining together to fight a common evil, correctly slated as worse than apartheid.
I look forward to more of this story. Pieter Mulder has taken a LOT of flak recently for his correct summation of the facts, highly inconvenient facts i'll grant, but undisputed history (except by the anc, they'll dispute anything if they feel like it). I hope he stands firm, and i suspect this issue is receiving far more interest in Europe than we suspect, from the Dutch and Belgians, who now really have a wedge with which to open the fallacy of the new south africa for all the world to see.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Maturity
"The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that is wants to live humbly for one." - Wilhelm Stekel
Bushmen and boere
In what might seem an unlikely tie-up, South Africa’s Khoisan community will protest with AfriForum Youth over Khoisan land ownership at the Land Reform Department.
Unsubstantiated so far, but in a daily mail i get. Yes, that is the most perfect thing i can imagine. Pieter Mulder is now referring to all the "local" tribes as "bantu" ... which is the same as lumping all Koreans, Chinese and Japanese as "oriental" ... but of course will not be very well received. Also correctly, they recognise the difference between between the "bantu" and the KhoiSan, who really were the undisputed owners of this land until driven off by settlements, both European AND Bantu. Guess how much land they got?
If you wish to paint me racist, please don't. This is about historical accuracy, no matter what the "political slant" of the day may be, you cannot correct anything without first clearly understanding the history of what really happened. The ANC is big on correcting, not so big on understanding.
The funny thing is this: the bantu and the boere got here about the same time, and both had equal rights to the land. There were agreements between them, and for the most part that "natural" state worked. It was only when the British Empire came to SA, that the Bantu saw their chance to kill this other tribe "boers" and so sided with the British. That move has cost them everything, for despite the boers taking ALL the blame for apartheid, it was the British who implemented it, and directed it via their now confirmed agents Louis Botha and Jan Smuts.
Unsubstantiated so far, but in a daily mail i get. Yes, that is the most perfect thing i can imagine. Pieter Mulder is now referring to all the "local" tribes as "bantu" ... which is the same as lumping all Koreans, Chinese and Japanese as "oriental" ... but of course will not be very well received. Also correctly, they recognise the difference between between the "bantu" and the KhoiSan, who really were the undisputed owners of this land until driven off by settlements, both European AND Bantu. Guess how much land they got?
If you wish to paint me racist, please don't. This is about historical accuracy, no matter what the "political slant" of the day may be, you cannot correct anything without first clearly understanding the history of what really happened. The ANC is big on correcting, not so big on understanding.
The funny thing is this: the bantu and the boere got here about the same time, and both had equal rights to the land. There were agreements between them, and for the most part that "natural" state worked. It was only when the British Empire came to SA, that the Bantu saw their chance to kill this other tribe "boers" and so sided with the British. That move has cost them everything, for despite the boers taking ALL the blame for apartheid, it was the British who implemented it, and directed it via their now confirmed agents Louis Botha and Jan Smuts.
Friday, 17 February 2012
Cyanide spill in drinking water in Natal
Forget the climate, this is more important:
From: TimesLive Source: Sapa | 17 February, 2012 12:52
The raw water supply for the northern KwaZulu-Natal town of Dundee and surrounding areas has been poisoned with cyanide, uThukela Water said on Friday.
The spill was discovered on Thursday morning when cows died after drinking from a stream near a site outside Newcastle, spokesman Dumisani Thabethe said.
Residents appeared to have escaped harm so far.
"There is no one who has been reported to have been affected by the spillage," he said.
Thabethe said: "We are told that about 11 cows have died, but by late evening it was 50, but I am not too sure about the accuracy of the figures.
"Our concern is people getting water directly from the river."
As a precaution, uThukela Water broadcast a warning on the Newcastle community radio station on Thursday.
The spill might have come from a site where synthetic rubber was being manufactured, but this was still being investigated, Thabethe said.
The Ngagane river was flushed with water from the Ntshingwayo dam on Thursday in an attempt to dilute the chemical content.
Water was being released from the dam at 16,000 litres per second.
Thabethe said HTH, chlorine used in domestic swimming pools, was poured into the river before it was flushed.
"They were hoping to stimulate a chemical reaction between the HTH and the cyanide."
__________________________________________________
There are two "synthetic rubber" plants in Newcastle:
Asia Chemical cc
And:
Karbochem (Pty)Ltd <--- they did it. (updated)
As much as i'm the corporate hater, Karbochem seems to be respectable, see this picture with massive tanks of water for (presumably) filtering waste and such.
Asia Chemicals is close to a river, see here, it would be a safe bet that the stormwater drains lead straight to the river. It doesn't have any reputation, so far as i can find. Synthetic rubber and adhesives seem to its products, and cyanide is a major part and by product of synthetic rubber manufacture.
Either way, don't drink the water. Oh, and findmr asia chemicals MR KARBCHEM and give him a swim, after he pays for the cows and "other expenses".
EDIT: it seems that the strategy of using HTH while flushing the river is a good one. According to here: NMFRC it's been an industrial means of reducing cyanide concentrations "for over 35 years" ... good luck to that.
From: TimesLive Source: Sapa | 17 February, 2012 12:52
The raw water supply for the northern KwaZulu-Natal town of Dundee and surrounding areas has been poisoned with cyanide, uThukela Water said on Friday.
The spill was discovered on Thursday morning when cows died after drinking from a stream near a site outside Newcastle, spokesman Dumisani Thabethe said.
Residents appeared to have escaped harm so far.
"There is no one who has been reported to have been affected by the spillage," he said.
Thabethe said: "We are told that about 11 cows have died, but by late evening it was 50, but I am not too sure about the accuracy of the figures.
"Our concern is people getting water directly from the river."
As a precaution, uThukela Water broadcast a warning on the Newcastle community radio station on Thursday.
The spill might have come from a site where synthetic rubber was being manufactured, but this was still being investigated, Thabethe said.
The Ngagane river was flushed with water from the Ntshingwayo dam on Thursday in an attempt to dilute the chemical content.
Water was being released from the dam at 16,000 litres per second.
Thabethe said HTH, chlorine used in domestic swimming pools, was poured into the river before it was flushed.
"They were hoping to stimulate a chemical reaction between the HTH and the cyanide."
__________________________________________________
There are two "synthetic rubber" plants in Newcastle:
Asia Chemical cc
And:
Karbochem (Pty)Ltd <--- they did it. (updated)
As much as i'm the corporate hater, Karbochem seems to be respectable, see this picture with massive tanks of water for (presumably) filtering waste and such.
Asia Chemicals is close to a river, see here, it would be a safe bet that the stormwater drains lead straight to the river. It doesn't have any reputation, so far as i can find. Synthetic rubber and adhesives seem to its products, and cyanide is a major part and by product of synthetic rubber manufacture.
Either way, don't drink the water. Oh, and find
EDIT: it seems that the strategy of using HTH while flushing the river is a good one. According to here: NMFRC it's been an industrial means of reducing cyanide concentrations "for over 35 years" ... good luck to that.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
We need
"We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness." - Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Friday, 10 February 2012
OSBM
I know i've posted already today, but i found this and still can't stop laughing.
http://www.osbm.co.za/
OUR OBJECTIVES
To become the ultimate reference to the definition of biking in Southern Africa
To protect and promote the old school biking traditions, protocols and lifestyle
To provide a platform for those who are in agreement with OSBM objectives
To guide and educate those seeking to define themselves
To eventually compile a database of respected MC, MCC's
And of course, on their patch stands FIFO ... fit in or fuck off. How quaint. I would include an image of their patch, but fuck them.
I should explain myself, since it all appears very ... normal i guess. It's all about control, about who is the top dog of baaikers in south africa. There are a whole bunch of president's councils, presidents councils councils, and other associations which serve as an excuse to drink on weeknights. You have thinkbike, which is a complete flop in terms of positively affecting anything at all, (except hospital visits, Boesman does astonishing work in that dept), and you have importers and manufacturers associations like amid, all trying to jostle their way to the top of the dungheap.
I notice that some of the main okes are ex think bike too ... so they're admitting that tb is a failure, they rubbished the brand, and now create brand after brand after brand, all trying to "educate the uninformed", most likely over a beer. They talk about "respect" and "honour" and such high faluting ideas, but only for people who give THEM their "dues" and conform to their "standards".
"PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES TO START A NEW CLUB
When you have determined what type of club you want to start (see above), you need to make contact with the local Council or Association. You need to do this so that they can assist you.
Old School bikers understand biking traditions and protocols. They ask permission from their Brothers if they want to do anything that will involve the other Brothers. That goes for starting new clubs as well. Less experienced Brothers should seek and follow the advice of their more experienced Brothers."
Sounds like the fucking taxman don't it? Come here so we can help you with your anal virginity problem. This fucking posturing and preening like a bunch of peacocks is revolting. It's all about the jol, and the crowd, and the popularity, and status, and has nothing to do with anything else of value. Old boys club for the common man, as run by the wealthier among them for their own egotism. Just like freemasonry, except the bitch can play with if she keeps her mouth shut.
Fit in or fuck off ... thankfully I don't fit in with them. I am not one of them. Never will be.
http://www.osbm.co.za/
OUR OBJECTIVES
To become the ultimate reference to the definition of biking in Southern Africa
To protect and promote the old school biking traditions, protocols and lifestyle
To provide a platform for those who are in agreement with OSBM objectives
To guide and educate those seeking to define themselves
To eventually compile a database of respected MC, MCC's
And of course, on their patch stands FIFO ... fit in or fuck off. How quaint. I would include an image of their patch, but fuck them.
I should explain myself, since it all appears very ... normal i guess. It's all about control, about who is the top dog of baaikers in south africa. There are a whole bunch of president's councils, presidents councils councils, and other associations which serve as an excuse to drink on weeknights. You have thinkbike, which is a complete flop in terms of positively affecting anything at all, (except hospital visits, Boesman does astonishing work in that dept), and you have importers and manufacturers associations like amid, all trying to jostle their way to the top of the dungheap.
I notice that some of the main okes are ex think bike too ... so they're admitting that tb is a failure, they rubbished the brand, and now create brand after brand after brand, all trying to "educate the uninformed", most likely over a beer. They talk about "respect" and "honour" and such high faluting ideas, but only for people who give THEM their "dues" and conform to their "standards".
"PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES TO START A NEW CLUB
When you have determined what type of club you want to start (see above), you need to make contact with the local Council or Association. You need to do this so that they can assist you.
Old School bikers understand biking traditions and protocols. They ask permission from their Brothers if they want to do anything that will involve the other Brothers. That goes for starting new clubs as well. Less experienced Brothers should seek and follow the advice of their more experienced Brothers."
Sounds like the fucking taxman don't it? Come here so we can help you with your anal virginity problem. This fucking posturing and preening like a bunch of peacocks is revolting. It's all about the jol, and the crowd, and the popularity, and status, and has nothing to do with anything else of value. Old boys club for the common man, as run by the wealthier among them for their own egotism. Just like freemasonry, except the bitch can play with if she keeps her mouth shut.
Fit in or fuck off ... thankfully I don't fit in with them. I am not one of them. Never will be.
The line
"The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. Even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained; and even in the best of all hearts, there remains a small corner of evil. It is impossible to expel evil from the world in its entirety, but it is possible to constrict it within each person."
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Again i have to thank CoyotePrime for his daily inspiration. A full size image can be found here.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Last message of Paul Kruger
Last message of president S. J. P. Kruger to his people.
Addressed to general Louis Botha.
Dear General,
It is a great privilege to be able to acknowledge the receipt of your cablegram and letter of 23rd and 29th May respectively, conveying to me the greetings of the Congress held from 23rd to 25th May at Pretoria.
In all the sorrow and grief that has befallen me these greetings have made me deeply thankful. And with all my heart I thank those who have spared a thought for their age State President during their deliberations about the present and future: by so doing they show that they have not forgotten the past
For, he who desires to build a future, dare not neglect the past.
Seek, therefore, all that is good and beautiful in the past, build on it your ideal, and strive to realise that ideal for the future.
It is true much of what has been built is now destroyed, despoiled and ruined; but through singleness of purpose and unity of strength what now lies shattered can still be restored.
I am thankful to see that this unity and this concord prevail amongst you.
Do not forget that grave warning that lies in the words, "Divide and rule" ; never let these words apply to the South African nation. Then our people and our language will endure and prosper.
What I myself shall live to see of this, rests with God. Born under the British flag, I do not wish to die under it. I have learnt to accept the bitter thought of death as a lone exile in a foreign land, far from my kith and kin whose faces I am not likely to see again; far from a country to which I devoted my whole life in an effort to open it up for civilisation and where I saw my own nation grow.
But this grief will be softened if I may cherish the belief that the work once begun, continues; for then the hope and the expectation that the work will end well, will me strength. So be it.
For the bottom of my heart I greet you and my people.
Villas Des Prierriers 17,
Clarens (Vaud), Switzerland.
29th June, 1904.
_______________________________________________
When i visited the Voortrekker monument in Pretoria, which was inaugurated in 1949, i saw deep inside the massive stone monument, the flame (of civilisation). I was initially stunned, since i know its true meaning, which is best expressed as "illumination", which is great and all that, but utterly opposed to the life and beliefs of the boers and trekkers. It struck me then how it had transpired, and how deep the rot went.
I'm doing research on behalf of my son for a project, "The history of banking in SA" ... gosh. 1904 the British defeat the Boers with a scorched earth policy, 1910 they inaugurate their colony, 1912 they establish the central bank. I also learned that the british lied to the bantu's, telling them that the afrikaner would re-introduce slavery, so the bantu's formed cannon fodder for the brits, who won and within 20 years had introduced apartheid, nothing more than refined colonialism, as practiced by the brits the world over.
Ladies and gentlemen, i give you the result of the Boer war, and the victory of Britain in South Africa:
This is what the boers were fighting against.
I also find it fascinating that the ANC and the Reserve bank were instituted in the same year, 1912.
On his return to England early in 1901, in a series of lectures given in Scotland, Doyle praised the activities of the freemasons during the Boer war. On 23 March 1901, he was invited to propose the main toast to the Immortal Memory of Queen Victoria and The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary’s Chapel) No 1 Scottish Constitution made him an honorary member following his speech, in which he spoke on Masonry in South Africa.
Source: Website.
What has since emerged is that Doyle did indeed visit the Rising Star Lodge but the date and circumstances remain a mystery. The first meeting of the Lodge during the war took place on the 5th of April 1900 following on the British occupation of the town two days earlier. The Cape Argus reported the meeting in their 18th April issue stating that:
" ...a communication was received from R W Bro Lord Kitchener . . expressing his regret at not being able to attend the meeting . . .and a similar letter was read from Bro A Conan Doyle, both Brethren intimating that it was their intention to visit the lodge in the near future. "
Lord Kitchener did attend a meeting of the Lodge on 23rd April 1900 and signed a document, still in possession of the Lodge, proposing that a Royal resolution be sent to the Prince of Wales. Lord Roberts and Conan Doyle are also signatories to this document.
2 days after taking Bloemfontein: "Thirty-nine members of the lodge and sixty-one visitors, many high ranking and important personalities, were present." How convenient.
The victors, who were traitors to their families and friends and country and heritage.
Addressed to general Louis Botha.
Dear General,
It is a great privilege to be able to acknowledge the receipt of your cablegram and letter of 23rd and 29th May respectively, conveying to me the greetings of the Congress held from 23rd to 25th May at Pretoria.
In all the sorrow and grief that has befallen me these greetings have made me deeply thankful. And with all my heart I thank those who have spared a thought for their age State President during their deliberations about the present and future: by so doing they show that they have not forgotten the past
For, he who desires to build a future, dare not neglect the past.
Seek, therefore, all that is good and beautiful in the past, build on it your ideal, and strive to realise that ideal for the future.
It is true much of what has been built is now destroyed, despoiled and ruined; but through singleness of purpose and unity of strength what now lies shattered can still be restored.
I am thankful to see that this unity and this concord prevail amongst you.
Do not forget that grave warning that lies in the words, "Divide and rule" ; never let these words apply to the South African nation. Then our people and our language will endure and prosper.
What I myself shall live to see of this, rests with God. Born under the British flag, I do not wish to die under it. I have learnt to accept the bitter thought of death as a lone exile in a foreign land, far from my kith and kin whose faces I am not likely to see again; far from a country to which I devoted my whole life in an effort to open it up for civilisation and where I saw my own nation grow.
But this grief will be softened if I may cherish the belief that the work once begun, continues; for then the hope and the expectation that the work will end well, will me strength. So be it.
For the bottom of my heart I greet you and my people.
Villas Des Prierriers 17,
Clarens (Vaud), Switzerland.
29th June, 1904.
_______________________________________________
When i visited the Voortrekker monument in Pretoria, which was inaugurated in 1949, i saw deep inside the massive stone monument, the flame (of civilisation). I was initially stunned, since i know its true meaning, which is best expressed as "illumination", which is great and all that, but utterly opposed to the life and beliefs of the boers and trekkers. It struck me then how it had transpired, and how deep the rot went.
I'm doing research on behalf of my son for a project, "The history of banking in SA" ... gosh. 1904 the British defeat the Boers with a scorched earth policy, 1910 they inaugurate their colony, 1912 they establish the central bank. I also learned that the british lied to the bantu's, telling them that the afrikaner would re-introduce slavery, so the bantu's formed cannon fodder for the brits, who won and within 20 years had introduced apartheid, nothing more than refined colonialism, as practiced by the brits the world over.
Ladies and gentlemen, i give you the result of the Boer war, and the victory of Britain in South Africa:
On his return to England early in 1901, in a series of lectures given in Scotland, Doyle praised the activities of the freemasons during the Boer war. On 23 March 1901, he was invited to propose the main toast to the Immortal Memory of Queen Victoria and The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary’s Chapel) No 1 Scottish Constitution made him an honorary member following his speech, in which he spoke on Masonry in South Africa.
Source: Website.
What has since emerged is that Doyle did indeed visit the Rising Star Lodge but the date and circumstances remain a mystery. The first meeting of the Lodge during the war took place on the 5th of April 1900 following on the British occupation of the town two days earlier. The Cape Argus reported the meeting in their 18th April issue stating that:
" ...a communication was received from R W Bro Lord Kitchener . . expressing his regret at not being able to attend the meeting . . .and a similar letter was read from Bro A Conan Doyle, both Brethren intimating that it was their intention to visit the lodge in the near future. "
Lord Kitchener did attend a meeting of the Lodge on 23rd April 1900 and signed a document, still in possession of the Lodge, proposing that a Royal resolution be sent to the Prince of Wales. Lord Roberts and Conan Doyle are also signatories to this document.
2 days after taking Bloemfontein: "Thirty-nine members of the lodge and sixty-one visitors, many high ranking and important personalities, were present." How convenient.
The victors, who were traitors to their families and friends and country and heritage.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Military enrollment requirements
Hat tip to this isn't happiness, and with GREAT respect to Arlo Guthrie.
For those who don't know, it's from a song called Alice's Restaurant, which is a song about Alice, and her restaurant ... well sorta. It's a wonderful song, even better story, but real life always upstages the stage. I give you, the court transcript.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Sticks and stones ...
Registration, the definition in the Blacks Law Dictionary is: “the act of recording and enrolling of property and chattels” – where have we agreed to register our children, homes, land, buildings, businesses and chattels with this company?
Extracted from: Human Beings vs THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
Anthea has been involved in building alternate communities for several years now. While i cannot be there in the flesh, i will certainly be there in spirit, and i wish her all the best in her defense.
Extracted from: Human Beings vs THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
Anthea has been involved in building alternate communities for several years now. While i cannot be there in the flesh, i will certainly be there in spirit, and i wish her all the best in her defense.
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Lions and historians
"Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters."- African Proverb
I wonder where in Africa are historians, i think story teller would have been more apt, lol. But this quote caught me immediately, our recorded history is notoriously one sided, missing most of the truth of the matter.
I wonder where in Africa are historians, i think story teller would have been more apt, lol. But this quote caught me immediately, our recorded history is notoriously one sided, missing most of the truth of the matter.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Words
Words ending in SHIP include ownership, custodianship, partnership, receivership and of course citizenship (see all 218 words here: http://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ship/). The vast majority of these terms are used commercially because commerce originated from shipping merchants. Shipping merchants extended their rituals and practices from the sea onto the land. This is why you must SHIP your furniture from Jo'burg to Bloem, even though there is not a drop of water in sight. This is also why you need a passport to travel. There are even ports in the air, known as airports which are clear extensions of the laws and rituals of the sea. It is all about money and commerce.
When driving on a road, one uses a left and right lane. These lanes are symbolic of shipping lanes. Strangely, common city streets have islands which need to be negotiated (like a ship negotiates difficult waters). The person sitting next to the driver is called a passenger. Passengers are paying people who are taken from one place to another on commercial vessels for money. The assumption is made that you are always doing commerce when driving on a road. Commercial vessels need to insure their cargo. That is why passengers are insured because they are literally considered cargo. Who owns the cargo? Research this yourself to find out just how deep the rabbit hole goes.
The word "person" means corporation and a person is therefore considered cargo. If a person cannot maintain their commercial integrity, the corporation sinks, the business cannot stay afloat and they are declared insolvent. A solvent is a liquid in which something can be dissolved. If you have too many illiquid assets, you are insolvent. This is why the word liquidity is used in commercial affairs. Everything is about water and the sea because commercial laws of the sea is about commerce and cargo. It about turning real solid things (on land) into liquid trading commodities (money, commercial paper and negotiable instruments). How the illiquid (the real assets) are linked to the liquid (money) is the most masterful of deceptions and why lawyers are paid huge amounts of money NOT to investigate this.
In summary, it works like this: unless you specify otherwise, YOU ARE THE STATE'S CARGO. However, if you specify to someone who has no idea what you are talking about (like a traffic officer) that you are not cargo, they will look at you very strangely.
See how clever this is: a ship berths in a canal, and its cargo is offloaded into a delivery room where it is accounted for by way of a certificate with a title. Certificates are evidence of commercial value (like a share certificate).
Is it a coincidence that babies are also born from a birth canal in a delivery room? And a doctor then signs a manifest of live birth and issues a birth certificate in their name? The baby is then registered (to register comes from Latin rex regus – “for the crown”) and it now has a commercial value as property. This property (cargo) has been gifted to the crown (ie. the goverment's estate). The state has now has a vested commercial interest or share in the value of that property / cargo. That is why your human baby is stripped of all rights and given a commercial value to be traded as part of the national corporation.
If you take a look at your birth certificate, you will see that it does not say what you are (ie. a human being). However, if an animal is born, it gets a certificate specifying “bovine” or “feline” or “equine” or whatever the case may be. Put simply, when a human baby is born, a shadow corporation is formed in the baby’s name. The baby's name then becomes it's title. This cute little corporation only has those rights which the state chooses to give it.
Ask yourself - is a baby born with any natural rights at all (like the right to food and water?) Or does it only have those rights which are granted to it by the state? Well, the state can intervene at any time in the life and education of that child can it not? It can if the child is their precious cargo.
Remember, a flesh and blood human being has no natural legal standing, only it's shadow corporation (or juristic person) does. This is why the word “human being” is not in Black’s Law Dictionary. Black's Law Dictionary contains just about every word imaginable. However, if you want a definition of a human being, go back to 1930 and read Ballentines Law dictionary. Next to Human Being it says: “see monster.” I am not kidding.
My sincere thanks to the Johan of the Joubert Family Community for making this information available.
When driving on a road, one uses a left and right lane. These lanes are symbolic of shipping lanes. Strangely, common city streets have islands which need to be negotiated (like a ship negotiates difficult waters). The person sitting next to the driver is called a passenger. Passengers are paying people who are taken from one place to another on commercial vessels for money. The assumption is made that you are always doing commerce when driving on a road. Commercial vessels need to insure their cargo. That is why passengers are insured because they are literally considered cargo. Who owns the cargo? Research this yourself to find out just how deep the rabbit hole goes.
The word "person" means corporation and a person is therefore considered cargo. If a person cannot maintain their commercial integrity, the corporation sinks, the business cannot stay afloat and they are declared insolvent. A solvent is a liquid in which something can be dissolved. If you have too many illiquid assets, you are insolvent. This is why the word liquidity is used in commercial affairs. Everything is about water and the sea because commercial laws of the sea is about commerce and cargo. It about turning real solid things (on land) into liquid trading commodities (money, commercial paper and negotiable instruments). How the illiquid (the real assets) are linked to the liquid (money) is the most masterful of deceptions and why lawyers are paid huge amounts of money NOT to investigate this.
In summary, it works like this: unless you specify otherwise, YOU ARE THE STATE'S CARGO. However, if you specify to someone who has no idea what you are talking about (like a traffic officer) that you are not cargo, they will look at you very strangely.
See how clever this is: a ship berths in a canal, and its cargo is offloaded into a delivery room where it is accounted for by way of a certificate with a title. Certificates are evidence of commercial value (like a share certificate).
Is it a coincidence that babies are also born from a birth canal in a delivery room? And a doctor then signs a manifest of live birth and issues a birth certificate in their name? The baby is then registered (to register comes from Latin rex regus – “for the crown”) and it now has a commercial value as property. This property (cargo) has been gifted to the crown (ie. the goverment's estate). The state has now has a vested commercial interest or share in the value of that property / cargo. That is why your human baby is stripped of all rights and given a commercial value to be traded as part of the national corporation.
If you take a look at your birth certificate, you will see that it does not say what you are (ie. a human being). However, if an animal is born, it gets a certificate specifying “bovine” or “feline” or “equine” or whatever the case may be. Put simply, when a human baby is born, a shadow corporation is formed in the baby’s name. The baby's name then becomes it's title. This cute little corporation only has those rights which the state chooses to give it.
Ask yourself - is a baby born with any natural rights at all (like the right to food and water?) Or does it only have those rights which are granted to it by the state? Well, the state can intervene at any time in the life and education of that child can it not? It can if the child is their precious cargo.
Remember, a flesh and blood human being has no natural legal standing, only it's shadow corporation (or juristic person) does. This is why the word “human being” is not in Black’s Law Dictionary. Black's Law Dictionary contains just about every word imaginable. However, if you want a definition of a human being, go back to 1930 and read Ballentines Law dictionary. Next to Human Being it says: “see monster.” I am not kidding.
My sincere thanks to the Johan of the Joubert Family Community for making this information available.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
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