Article: Climate change far worse than thought before

image source

Interesting thought for the new year. It is important that, as a race, we start thinking further than our own individual needs. Unfortunately, there are still too many that believe Global Warming to be a fairy tale or a hoax of the highest degree. Hopefully these people will also wake up before it is simply too late.

Climate change far worse than thought before

IANS 3 January 2010, 12:09pm IST

NEW DELHI: Global alarm over climate change and its effects has risen manifold after the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Since then, many of the 2,500-odd IPCC scientists have found climate change is progressing faster than the worst-case scenario they had predicted.
Their studies will be considered for the next IPCC report, but since that will come out only in 2013, the University of New South Wales in Sydney has just put together the main findings in the last three years. Most are by previous IPCC lead authors "familiar with the rigour and completeness required for a scientific assessment of this nature", a university spokesperson said.
The most significant recent findings are:

• Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels in 2008 were 40 percent higher than in 1990. The recent Copenhagen Accord said warming should be contained within two degrees, but every year of delayed action increases the chances of exceeding the two-degree warming mark.
  Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas (GHG) warming the atmosphere.
• To keep within the two-degree limit, global GHG emissions need to peak between 2015 and 2020 and then decline rapidly. To stabilise climate, near-zero emissions of carbon dioxide and other long-lived GHG should be reached well within this century.
  More specifically, the average annual per-capita emissions will have to shrink to well under one tonne carbon dioxide by 2050. This is 80-95 percent below the per-capita emissions in developed nations in 2000.
• Over the past 25 years temperatures have increased at a rate of 0.19 degree Celsius per decade. The trend has continued over the last 10 years despite a decrease in radiation from the sun.
• The studies show extreme hot temperature events have increased, extreme cold temperature events have decreased, heavy rain or snow has become heavier, while there has been increase in drought as well.
  They also show that the intensity of cyclones has increased in the past three decades in line with rising tropical ocean temperatures.
• Satellites show recent global average sea level rise (3.4 mm/year over the past 15 years) to be about 80 percent above IPCC predictions. This acceleration is consistent with a doubling in contribution from melting of glaciers, ice caps, and the Greenland and West-Antarctic ice sheets.
  New estimates of ocean heat uptake are 50 percent higher than previous calculations. Global ocean surface temperature reached the warmest ever recorded in June, July and August 2009. Ocean acidification and ocean de-oxygenation due to global warming have been identified as potentially devastating for large parts of the marine ecosystem.
• By 2100, global sea level is likely to rise at least twice as much as projected by the IPCC in 2007; if emissions are unmitigated the rise may well exceed one metre.
  The sea level will continue to rise for centuries after global temperatures have been stabilised, and several metres of sea level rise must be expected over the next few centuries.
• A wide array of satellite and ice measurements demonstrate that both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting at an increasing rate. Melting of glaciers and ice-caps in other parts of the world has also accelerated since 1990.
  The contribution of glaciers and ice-caps to global sea level rise has increased from 0.8 mm per year in the 1990s to 1.2 mm per year today. The adjustment of glaciers and ice caps to present climate alone is expected to raise sea level by about 18 cm. Under warming conditions they may contribute as much as around 55 cm by 2100.
  The net loss of ice from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated since the mid-1990s and is now contributing 0.7 mm per year to sea level rise due to both increased melting and accelerated ice flow. Antarctica is also losing ice mass at an increasing rate, mostly from the West Antarctic ice sheet due to increased ice flow. Antarctica is currently contributing to sea level rise at a rate nearly equal to Greenland.
• Summer-time melting of Arctic sea-ice has accelerated far beyond the expectations of climate models. The area of summertime sea-ice 2007-09 was about 40 percent less than the average prediction from IPCC climate models in the 2007 report.
• The studies say avoiding tropical deforestation could prevent up to 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.
• New ice-core records confirm the importance of GHG for temperatures on earth, and show that carbon dioxide levels are higher now than they have been during the last 800,000 years.

[source]

The most violent country in Europe…

 

Britain's violent crime record is worse than any other country in the European union, it has been revealed.

Official crime figures show the UK also has a worse rate for all types of violence than the U.S. and even South Africa - widely considered one of the world's most dangerous countries.

[source]

I have to admit that I am hesitant to believe any article that makes these kind of claims these days. Crime and crime rates appear to be sensational news and I suspect facts and figures are blown out of proportion, or not accurately reported. Like the recent story that 1 in 4 men in South Africa have raped at least one person.

Yes, South Africa has a high crime rate. Yes, the UK has a high crime rate. I suspect one may find the same in any country with densely populated areas.

Abuse of Child 'Witches' Burgeoning

Abuse of Child 'Witches' Burgeoning
Posted May 18, 09 10:17 AM CDT in Crime & Courts, World
(Newser) – Children dubbed “witches” are facing increasing abuse in Nigeria and elsewhere, advocates say. “They would take my clothes off, tie me up and beat me,” said a 14-year-old, whose grandfather concluded he was a “witch” 2 years ago when he cried at the threat of being beaten with a broom. “Nigerian witches are terrified of brooms,” the grandfather tells CNN.

“Children accused of witchcraft are often incarcerated in churches for weeks on end and beaten, starved, and tortured in order to extract a confession,” said a member of an advocacy group. Often, the children have conditions like learning disabilities or epilepsy. Some 15,000 kids are labeled witches in two Nigerian states, and “it is a growing issue worldwide, among not just African communities, but in countries such as Nepal,” said a UN worker.
Source: CNN

Over and over, i read stories like this. Stories of our children being abused. In Africa, in Asia, in Europe.
When, oh when, will our children be safe?

Some are just above the media, above the law...

Zuma ‘obliged’ to sue Guardian
THE legal department of the UK’s The GUARDIAN told The Times that it is aware of Jacob Zuma’s pending lawsuit against the newspaper.

The newspaper has removed the column Zuma claims is defamatory from its website.
In the column, Simon Jenkins described the ANC president as a “polygamous, leopard skin-draped Zulu boss” who is “just another African crony politician for whom power is not about government, but personal enrichment”.
Liesl Göttert, who has been Zuma’s spokesman in connection with his defamation lawsuits, said Zuma objected most to Jenkins writing that a friend of Jenkins had said God was “about to give us a criminal and a rapist as president”.
Zuma was found not guilty after being charged with rape in 2006.
He is demanding an apology and damages — the amount has not been specified — from the paper and has appointed a London law firm to act on his behalf.
Zuma said yesterday : “The media should report accurately and honestly. How can they be allowed to damage a person’s reputation in this way? I was obliged to act where I had been wronged.”
The Guardian said: “We confirm we have been contacted by Schillings Lawyers, acting for Jacob Zuma, regarding the article by Simon Jenkins . It would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.”

The Times

I am sorry, but I have to, yet again, disagree. Yes, the media should report accurately and honestly on NEWS, but columns are opinion pieces, and should reflect, accurately and honestly, the opinion of the people. And Simon Jenkins communicated the opinion of the people quite accurately.

The reality is that, in a week from today, we will be going to the polls in a pointless election, because, come hell or high water, Jacob Zuma, a suspected rapist and morally corrupt human being, will be our next president, and nothing is going to change that.

Use your voice!

I received this via email this morning. I am not sure if the credit is authentic, but the message is true:

TREVOR MALLACH
GLOBAL SOURCING EXECUTIVE - SHOPRITE GROUP
I don't normally get involved in politics, but this should ring true for every South African! Read and pass on to every person proud to own a green passport!

Hello fellow citizens
If like me, you don't have a passport from another country and you quite like living in South Africa, now is quite an important time for you.
Instead of using clichés like "the future is in your hands.." or "make your mark, let your voice be heard!" and other ineffective drivel, I am going to just draw your attention to the following:
Bob Mugabe had to amend the constitution of Zimbabwe to allow him to remain in power as president, long after he had reached his intellectual sell-by-date. (Before this, as in all "democracies", there was a limit to the number of terms which a president could serve). Having changed it once, he did it again. Then he was on a roll. The rest of the story we all know very well. With hindsight, we can see that had he been prevented from taking the first step, the whole sub-Saharan part of Africa would have been spared quite a lot of bother.
When Hitler took over Germany he systematically turned it into a fascist police-state, where no-one (no, not even German citizens) had any freedom. He did this by passing one piece of legislature after another. Slowly he started to ban things (like women shaving their legs and underarms). Next he formed a special police force which was under his personal control (the infamous Gestapo) to enforce these new laws. Then he banned some more things, like jokes, clever books and talking about him behind his back. By the time he had mobilised his army, and banned being Jewish or trying to stop him from invading your country it was TOO LATE! He had gained too much momentum.
"How did he and Bob manage this?" you may ask.
I'll tell you how: Baby steps.
Each time they changed something, they convinced all the stupid people that it was for the greater good. Clever people, who could tell that it wasn't, thought to themselves "Surely they won't get away with this" over tea and rusks, but did nothing. By the time someone decided to stand up and make a scene, his house had been burned down and his head was firmly wedged between an S.S. boot and the pavement outside.
Now, I'm sure we all agree that one "Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma" possesses neither the intellect, balls or charisma to start a world war. However, he has somehow managed to wangle his way into a position where he can very well take the first baby step towards making a complete pig's ear of our country. Old-school racist whites are always on about our country going to the dogs and ending up like Zim.. Of course they did this because they were narrow-minded and ignorant, not because they were keeping a keen eye on actual political developments. Our downfall will not be racism as everyone predicted in 1994, it will be corrupt politicians driven by greed and a hunger for power. And people drinking tea saying "surely they won't get away with that?".
Now,
JZ's trial has been scheduled for August (which is AFTER the election). After winning the election, the ANC plans on amending the constitution to prohibit the acting president from being prosecuted in a court of law. Just like with Bob Mugabe, the most fundamental law of the country will now be changed to suit the whims of a criminal with no brain. (Never mind the fact that this would actually mean that he could literally commit murder and get away with it until he steps down as president). Our constitution is literally the anchor which stops our country from drifting down river and over the edge of a waterfall. It leaves ultimate power in the hands of the courts and judges and prevents government from raising itself above the law. To allow anyone to mess with it is equivalent to committing a slow national suicide.
The ANC no doubt thinks they will again get the two thirds majority they need to tinker with the constitution in the April election.
I beg to differ.
I hope and believe that, unlike the sheep of the past in Germany and Zimbabwe , the average person who receives this mail has actually had enough of all these shenanigans and would like to see the appearance of justice, logic and efficiency in government.
Unfortunately, we are in the minority. However, to prevent things from getting worse really fast, all we have to do (for now) is:
VOTE !!!!!!!!
And then, when the election comes, vote for anyone except the ANC. You can vote for Vernon Koekemoer or Skippy Peanut Butter for all I care, just as long as no one gets a two-thirds majority!
I swear on my grandma's grave... if I hear someone (who didn't vote or couldn't vote because they were too lazy or hungover to register) complaining at a braai about the government I will come in from the side with a flying head-butt which will leave you so brain-damaged you'll join the ANC youth league and vote for Julius Malema in 2013.
This country is genuinely amazing, lets not let a small handful of people use it as their personal monopoly set and turn it into another post-Collonial African 3rd World sad story.
Vote, dammit! People are willing to die fighting for the right to vote. If you don't, and you end up watching as the country slowly slides into an abyss it will be "on you".
Ok, enough.

The Times - ‘We want Zuma, corrupt or not’

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema outdid himself at a rally in Durban’s Cato Manor yesterday, branding DA leader Helen Zille “racist”, “colonialist” and “imperialist”.

Her deputy, Joe Seremane’s “ role . .. is to smile at the madam every time,” he said.

IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi was “Mickey Mouse” and COPE consisted of “angryists” who “don’ t smile”.

He came to ANC president Jacob Zuma’s defence: “If Zuma is corrupt, then we want him with all his corruption. We want him with all his weaknesses. If he is uneducated, then we want him as our uneducated president.”

Zuma, he said, understood SA economics, which amounted to: “Put a bread on the table. We don’t want sophistication.”

The Times - ‘We want Zuma, corrupt or not’

There is a little more to running a country than putting bread on the table. And this country needs a leader who cares not about his own pocket but about the well-being of the entire country. The ANC has failed us for long enough.

Do I really need to say anything else? Corrupt or not? No thank you!

Do not want!

Life can be a real bitch.

 

New Delhi - A group of Indian tribals have married off a toddler to a female dog in eastern India in an attempt to prevent his predicted death at the hands of a tiger, a report said on Wednesday.
The ceremony at a Hindu temple in Orissa state's Jajpur district was conducted with all the rituals observed at traditional weddings, including a dowry for the bride - the village bitch.
The dog sported two silver rings and a silver chain, the UNI news agency reported.
Parents of the groom, one-and-a-half year old Sangula, were advised to arrange the marriage when they noticed a tooth growing from their infant son's upper gum - considered a bad omen.

Community elders believed the growth would lead to the boy being killed in a tiger attack - a fate preventable, according to tribal tradition, by marrying a dog.
Sanrumula Munda, Sangula's father, said the ceremony would not prevent him from marrying properly when he comes of age.
Superstition is still a potent force in tribal and remote communities of India.

News - A Step Beyond: One-year-old weds village bitch

Solar-powered Toyota?

Toyota won't just be adding solar panels to its popular Prius gas-electric hybrid car—like the solar electric conversion kit seen at left—it'll be powering a version of it exclusively via sunshine, according to The Nikkei, Japan's business newspaper. In fact, Toyota will be relying on the solar-electric car to "turn around its struggling business," which resulted in its first operating loss in more than 70 years

Toyota to offer car powered by the sun?: Scientific American Blog

This is a great idea. It would be interesting to see this in production and pitched against the new Honda Clarity, which I am totally impressed with at the moment.

Efficient Use of Water

During 1984, an estimated 1.25 million acre feet of water were used by Texans in the care and maintenance and residential landscapes. Texas is expected to soon become the second most popular state in the U.S. with two-thirds of the population located in urban/suburban areas. With this growth, conservative estimates indicate water needs will increase 75 percent by the year 2000. Thus, conservation, reclamation and efficient use of water resources will become increasingly important.

Essentially all water used in Texas is derived from precipitation. Part of the precipitation flows into streams, ponds, lakes and reservoirs, and some of this eventually reaches the Gulf; another portion infiltrates the soil to the rooting zone of plants; a third portion percolates below the rooting zone and becomes groundwater.

Surface water sources are recharged rapidly, but groundwater reservoirs such as the Ogallala Aquifer, are recharged very slowly. The Ogallala Aquifer is slowly being exhausted in some areas of heavy pumping. The proportion of precipitation received in Texas that is returned to the atmosphere as water vapor is estimated to be 70 percent from non-irrigated land areas and 2 percent from irrigated areas. Most of this loss represents evaporation or transpiration from plant surfaces.

Rest of article: Efficient Use of Water

Fin24.com>>Economy>>More rate cuts to come

Johannesburg - Economists on Thursday welcomed the South African Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to reduce the repo rate by 50 basis points to 11.5%.

"Today's interest rate cut will provide a lot of relief to the struggling consumers, although not sufficient to induce an increased household consumption pattern over the short term," said Kgotso Radira, economist at Investec.

"This decision confirms our view that economic policy is now directed at averting a prolonged slowdown in the economy."

But Radira added that more interest rate cuts are needed to stimulate consumption demand and economic growth in future.

"We expect another cut at the next MPC meeting and it is likely that Sarb will cut by more than 50 basis points as targeted inflation falls rapidly. We see interest rates being lower by more than 300 basis points next year.

Fanie Joubert, economist at Efficient Group, said a 50 basis point-cut is not a major announcement, but it will give some positive sentiment to the market.

"At these levels though, it is not too significant, but for sentiment's sake it is positive."

Over the longer term, however, people will see why it was better for the Reserve Bank to be more moderate in the early phase of a rate cut, said George Glynos, economist at ETM.

"At this moment, it is the right move and the market will take it in its stride."

- I-Net Bridge

Fin24.com>>Economy>>More rate cuts to come

Finally, some good news after weeks and weeks of doom and gloom. Not only will yesterday’s rate cut bring some relief for consumers, but it will also encourage businesses to spend and invest again, especially if there is potential for more cuts in the near future. Good news all around.

News - Front Page: 'Santa Claus is dead'

A Christian group says Santa is "the new pagan god of materialism" and should get the chop.

"Teach your kids Santa Claus is dead and Jesus is alive!" the Cape Town-based ChristianView Network urged parents in a media release on Thursday.

"Let's reclaim the day to put Jesus first," said network director Philip Rosenthal.

"I look forward to the day when, like the ancient Roman gods of Europe, Santa Claus is forgotten and discredited."

Rosenthal said commercial interests would spend millions of rands trying to convince people to spend the next week in a mad rush of shopping, instead of thinking about why Jesus came.

The real Saint Nicholas, from whom the name Santa Claus was derived, would be horrified to find his name being abused by "commercialist idolatry".

Rosenthal urged people to highlight "Christ" whenever they wrote the word CHRISTmas.

ChristianView Network, which describes itself as a "conservative evangelical" organisation, also campaigns against abortion, homosexuality and pornography. - Sapa

News - Front Page: 'Santa Claus is dead'

Wonder if they realise that, if one follows the Bible, Jesus’s birthday is actually in April, so there should be no Jesus//Christ in Christmas either. The date was incorporated into the Christian calendar to convert the Pagans.

And, well, as for Santa being a new god… and a pagan god of materialism? Yes, well, ok. If they insist.

Wonder why they campaign against homosexuality though… maybe they also believe it can be ‘cured’?

Sowetan - News

Highlights in this article are my own.

The ANC has come out in defence of its controversial youth league leader Julius Malema, saying there was a campaign by the media to belittle him.

Malema, probably best known for his infamous “kill for Zuma” statements, was misunderstood by the media, the ANC national working committee (NWC) said after its weekly meeting.

“The NWC discussed what appears to be a sustained campaign in the media to belittle Julius Malema, and to position him and the youth league as being at odds with the policies of the ANC,” the NWC said.

“The media has a tendency to cover comments made by Malema in a selective and often inaccurate manner, ignoring the consistent policy pronouncements of the ANC Youth League.”

ANC insiders have described Malema as a “liability, who is failing to address the needs and aspirations of the working young professionals in this country”.

An ANC insider said Malema’s rhetoric could be appealing to the unemployed youth but he was failing to capture the imagination of “young professionals, who are now willing to come out and engage in politics as shown by the high turnout during the recent voter registration”.

Malema’s trail of controversial public outbursts started last year when he said the youth league would kill for ANC leader Jacob Zuma. Since then – apparently after ANC leaders rebuked him in private – he has replaced the word “kill” with “eliminate” in similar statements.

Zuma recently told the SABC that he had advised Malema to stop making controversial statements. – Sapa

Sowetan - News

 

So, ‘the media’ is out to get the ANC. This is not the first time the ANC has made statements like this about the way the media treats certain members, like Malema and JZ.

How convenient it must be to blame the incompetence of these members of the perception the media creates, rather than take responsibility for the sheer stupidity of these people.

I would be very surprised if, after everything that JZ, Malema and others have said in the past couple of months, the ANC still wins the election by a large margin. In fact, I would be very surprised if they win at all – but we have learnt some valuable lessons from Zimbabwe, and I do not expect JZ to simply let go of the seat he has claimed for himself.

That said, should the ANC win the next election, I will be packing my bags very quickly, because I refuse to live in a country that has him as leader. I believe Botswana is always looking for some skilled workers, and Namibia is also looking promising *grin*

ANC: Cut Motlanthe coverage: South Africa: Politics: News24

I have high-lighted a couple of sentences that particularly worry me.

ANC: Cut Motlanthe coverage
16/11/2008 00:07  - (SA)  

Makhudu Sefara

Johannesburg - The ANC has allegedly ordered the SABC to reduce its coverage of President Kgalema Motlanthe and to stop projecting him as being so presidential, to the disadvantage of the party's president, Jacob Zuma.

In a startling move that points to deep-seated divisions in the camp, the ANC has allegedly asked the country's biggest media organisation not to project Motlanthe as being more of a statesman than Zuma.

Two news executives and a few reporters told City Press that the ruling party was concerned about increasing calls for Motlanthe to be allowed to continue as the country's president, even after the elections next year.

"We were asked in October to reduce our coverage of Motlanthe and focus on putting out a better image of Zuma. We have tried to resist this, but there is only so much we can do," said one SABC source.

ANC getting raw deal

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe emphatically denied this on Saturday, saying the ANC was not in a position to tell the SABC which leaders to cover, because the party was getting a raw deal from the public broadcaster anyway.

"They do not cover us objectively, so we don't have the luxury of saying 'increase this or reduce that'," said Mantashe, adding that the ANC did not see any contest between Motlanthe and Zuma.

Motlanthe has courted controversy for a while, contradicting several ANC leaders - including national treasurer Mathews Phosa and South African Communist Party boss Blade Nzimande - publicly in what some say is an attempt to project himself as the sole voice of reason in a camp of hotheads.

Motlanthe has previously said that some attacks on the Constitutional Court from within the party were "out of ignorance".

The ANC Youth League said he was acting like a "paragon of correctness". The league also warned him not to act as if Zuma was no longer there.

Mantashe said the ANC had only asked the SABC to be objective.

"All these issues you are raising are being raised everywhere, but not in the ANC. We do not think Motlanthe is over-covered.

"He is squeezed in like all of us," said Mantashe.

Zuma cautioned over Motlanthe

Analyst Professor Sue Booysen of Wits University said she was "not surprised at all" about the alleged intra-Zuma camp battles.

Booysen said she knew that when the ANC decided who should replace former president Thabo Mbeki, those closest to Zuma had cautioned against Motlanthe, saying he was too good and too strong a candidate and could be difficult to dislodge from office.

They preferred former National Assembly speaker and current Deputy President Baleka Mbete because she was thought to be "weak" and easy to remove.

Booysen said the Zuma/Motlanthe face-off made sense because it was becoming increasingly clear that for the ANC to disarm the Congress of the People (Cope) it needed someone who was the embodiment of the values Cope espoused.

"There can be no doubt that Motlanthe would do much better than Zuma. He stood up to the Youth League, he spoke in defence of the judiciary.

"He is good," she said.

Zuma 'represented postively'

City Press asked the head of the Media Monitoring Project, William Bird, to analyse SABC TV's English news bulletins from last Saturday to Thursday to evaluate how Zuma and Motlanthe were featured.

In that period Bird found that Zuma could be "seen and heard speaking" for 239 seconds as opposed to Motlanthe's 61 seconds.

Bird said Motlanthe was featured only in items the SABC could not afford to ignore, such as the SADC summit that he hosted in Sandton, and other continental and global issues.

Zuma, on the other hand, was "represented positively" on the campaign trail.

Where he talked about the new party, Zuma came across as being "too defensive", talking about pursuing snakes, said Bird.

But overall, "Zuma is mostly shown speaking positively on a variety of issues, except where there is Julius Malema, because almost everything Malema says is negative.

"But Zuma gets a lot of chance to speak while Motlanthe speaks only briefly," Bird said.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said that he "spoke to all the people who matter" and could not find anyone who knew of an ANC instruction to cover Motlanthe less.

An SABC source said the request to cover the head of state less came before Mbeki was "recalled".

Zuma portrayed as a pop star

"I think they thought we were committed to covering Mbeki as a person and were being factional.

"The latest request came in October, at a meeting on the fourth floor of the TV centre.

"The concern is that we project Motlanthe in a statesman-like manner and Zuma (who likes to sing and dance) as a pop star.

"They say where he is seen with Malema, the young man must be edited out - but Malema sits really very close to Zuma," he said.

On Saturday Kganyago said the SABC would defend its journalists against political attacks.

Bheki Khumalo, an SABC board member responsible for news, last week said the board was aware that the SABC news team had come under severe pressure from various political organisations, some of which were being abusive to individual producers.

This, he said, was expected to escalate with the elections approaching.

- City Press

ANC: Cut Motlanthe coverage: South Africa: Politics: News24

 

Sounds like the ANC has bigger problems than it is willing to admit. And I have to say, i can quite see them ‘asking’ broadcasters to do this and that – because, amazingly, they are behaving much like their predecessors during the dark 80s. And this is how it started in Zim too. Control of the media.

Who controls the media controls the world, right? Or at least for voters, yes. And if you, as a broken political party, can convince your voters that everything’s all right and you are the good guy by using the media, you are sure to win the election. Because TV/newspapers never lie, right?

One just has to worry about Herr Zuma’s motivations for wanting to be president. Surely, the primary focus of the president should be what is good for the country and not for self. And, were I in Zuma’s shoes, and have come up against someone who is, indeed, better for the country and its people, I would step down. But then, this is Herr Zuma, who has done everything, everything, he possibly could to clean up his path to the presidential chair. I wonder what he will do, should there be a revolution that decides Motlanthe should rule rather than him.

I will vote for the party that restores freedom to the press as well as the people of this beautiful country, who believes in the true equality of all, and puts the safety of our children and elderly first, above parties and name changes.

Nanogenerators: Be your own power plant: Scientific American Blog

 

As teensy nanotech devices get even tinier, the question of how to supply them with power becomes more pressing. Zhong Lin Wang, a nano-engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, is committed to finding the answer. As he described in a January Scientific American article, these devices (measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter) could rely on nanoscale power plants, which would harvest waste energy from the ambient atmosphere or even from the human body. Now Wang's team has a new addition to the nanogenerator family: zinc oxide wires that produce an alternating current when stretched and released like a rubber band. (Wang is pictured holding a large-scale prototype at the left.)
The new approach, described today in Nature Nanotechnology, has several advantages over earlier techniques, Wang says. For one, it avoids the mechanical scrubbing action that characterized some earlier generators, which means it's less likely to wear down. And the simplicity of the concept lends itself better to mass production. The entire device is covered by a flexible polymer, Wang adds, so it can be embedded in soft materials such as clothing or even muscles, meaning that getting your blood moving by going for a brisk walk or hitting the gym might one day get some electrons moving as well.
Credit: Gary Meek/Georgia Tech

Nanogenerators: Be your own power plant: Scientific American Blog

Cop: You whites must f*** off

Johannesburg - "It's time you whites packed your bags and fucked off."

With these words a black police inspector from Tembisa on the East Rand allegedly scolded the victims of an armed robbery and hijacking attempt in Kempton Park on Monday night.

This officer, whose name is known to Beeld, apparently refused to arrest a black suspect on the scene.

He also refused to open a case after Nic Lubbe, 51, from Kempton Park West, his daughter, Antoenet Cronjé, and her two sons, Morné, 11, and Kyle, 3, were assailed by robbers on Monday night.

'White dogs'

He ostensibly also refused to allow white members of the Norkem Park police to search the suspects' car and called them "white dogs".

Lubbe said he was on his way to drop off his daughter and grandchildren at their house in Terrenure at about 23:00 when he saw a grey Corsa bakkie next to the road in Orange River Street.

Suddenly the Corsa bakkie's headlights went on to blind Lubbe. Then it was driven into Lubbe's bakkie from behind.

Three armed men jumped off the back and grabbed Cronjé's handbag.

Lubbe sped away and later returned to the scene with his wife, Mara, 49, and members of the Norkem Park police office.

A black inspector from the Tembisa roadblock task team was already there with one of the suspects (the driver of the Corsa). The other three got away.

"The inspector said we were white dogs and he told a white policewoman that he would see to it that she was shot dead in a robbery.

"Then he cocked his R5 (rifle) in my face and said it was time that we whites packed our bags and fucked off out of the country."

An eyewitness apparently heard the inspector's offensive remarks.

"I saw how these people were robbed, but he protected the criminal."

The inspector apparently did open an accident report. The Corsa driver's wife then arrived on the scene, posing as a police officer.

One of the Norkem Park police officers said this woman wanted to arrest them when they tried to search the Corsa for "interfering with the scene".

Lubbe said the woman emptied out the contents of his daughter's handbag and returned the empty handbag to her.

On Tuesday Lubbe opened a case of armed robbery and attempted hijacking at the Norkem Park police.

Gauteng police spokesperson Superintendent Eugene Opperman said the matter was being investigated "with the view to possible disciplinary steps."

The Tembisa and provincial police management have expressed their shock at the alleged incident, he said.

- Beeld

Cop: You whites must f*** off: South Africa: News: News24

Completely unacceptable. And then government questions the brain drain.

The Times - ANC Alliance seeks two-tier Cabinet

 

The ANC Alliance partners have proposed a two-tier cabinet structure, which is aimed at advancing the government’s developmental priorities.

"This would be presided over by a Council of State comprised of Senior Ministers heading key clusters or areas of government work, with a second tier Cabinet," according to a statement after a two-day summit held to determine economic policy for the new government.

The ANC Alliance partners also said it was imperative for South Africa to be self-reliant in order to survive the crippling global economic crisis and address issues such as unemployment and poverty.

"South Africa has grown from being a net exporter to being an importer of food and this needs to be addressed.

"Policy must be geared to increase food production and safeguard food security so that we rely less on imports," a statement issued after the summit said.

This, they said, would help make food affordable and address growing starvation and unemployment in the country.

The alliance undertook to change policies they believed to be dysfunctional, and proposed the establishment of a planning commission to oversee delivery in various spheres of government.

"There is a need for both continuity and change. There are policies and programmes we can build on, while others require review, and in many cases persisting problems relate to poor institutional coherence and co-ordination within the state," said ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe.

The proposed planning commission, which will possibly be headed by the presidency, was expected to be active soon after the 2009 general elections.

"The Planning Commission would promote the alignments of government budgets with developmental planning, set broad targets through medium term and long term plans, conduct strategic risk assessment and act as secretariat to the council of state," the alliance said.

The Times - ANC Alliance seeks two-tier Cabinet

 

So, let me get this straight. They want to add an additional tier, or layer, to government, with the objective of making things run more efficiently? I fail to see how this will work.

I also hope that the policies and programmes that they hope to review include the land redistribution plans. Honestly, I do not think simply redistributing land will solve any problems (just look at what it did in Zimbabwe).

Look, don’t get me wrong. I agree that the current land distribution is a result of unfair policies in the past, but simply redistributing land will not solve any problems – in fact, it will double them. Not only will it reduce the food production in the country, but it will also increase unemployment. Long term plans need to be thought through around land distribution so that it caters for a growth in both food production and the job sector.

It is possibly time for the ANC to start thinking about the people rather than their pockets. And I think the people feel the same way.

News - South Africa: Salary hikes for politicians

 

The Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers has recommended a general increase in salary, allowances, and benefits of 11 percent effective from April 1, 2008, for all public office bearers.
In terms of this, President Kgalema Motlanthe's total package will increase to R2 107 224 a year, that of Deputy President Baleka Mbete to R1 896 546, Cabinet ministers R1 612 053, and deputy ministers R1 327 560 a year.
The leader of the opposition will get R1 043 067 and ordinary MPs will receive R714  a year.
The premiers of the nine provinces will receive R1 517 259, MECs R1 327 560, and MPLs R691 641 a year.
The commission recommended a total salary package of R840 159 a year for executive mayors and mayors, R680 985 for deputy mayors, R641 247 for municipal MECs, and R322 899 for councillors.

Full time traditional leaders can expect total remuneration ranging from R786 080 (kings) to R144 189 (senior traditional leaders) a year.
The commission also recommended a total package of R1 896 546 a year for the Chief Justice, R1 706 847 for the Deputy Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), while Constitutional Court and SCA Judges will get R1 517 259.
It recommended that High Court Judge Presidents receive R1  a year, their deputies R1 327 560, and judges R1 232 766.
A special grade chief magistrate, regional court president, and divorce court president will get R853,479 a year, and a regional magistrate, chief magistrate, and divorce court presiding officer R758 574.
The recommendation for senior magistrates is R625 818 a year and for magistrates R568 986.
Briefing the media, commission chairman Dikgang Moseneke said it was also being recommended that an MP or MPL who had served a period of five years or less should not be entitled to a pension.
Instead, such a person should receive a "once-off terminal payment" equal to 45 percent of pensionable salary for every year of service.
AN MP or MPL who had served more than five years and whose term of office had ended would be entitled to a once-off gratuity equal to four months pensionable salary for every five years of service or a pro-rata part of the five year period.
The non-taxable allowance of R40 000 a year for MPs and MPLs should also be increased to R120 000, Moseneke said.
The recommendations now have to be approved by Motlanthe and by Parliament. - Sapa

News - South Africa: Salary hikes for politicians

This is exactly how a responsible politician behaves when the country’s economy is in crisis – increase the already exorbitant salaries. *applauds*

Long live the pigs that are more equal than others. *vomit*

South Africa must step up land reform - Zuma

 

South Africa must intensify efforts to transfer farmland to blacks if it is to end crippling poverty among rural communities, ruling ANC leader Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.
After the fall of apartheid in 1994, the African National Congress-led government set itself a target of handing 30 percent of all agricultural land to the black majority by 2014.
So far, however, it has only acquired 4 percent of land from private owners for redistribution, and says it needs to accelerate the process. Thousands of poor blacks are still waiting for farms promised to them by the ANC, which sees land redistribution as a cornerstone of black majority rule.

"We would not be transforming our country if we do not end the marginalisation of rural areas. That is why we will work to intensify our land reform programme," Zuma said in a speech at a metal workers union conference.
Land restitution is a sensitive issue in South Africa, troubled by the decline in agriculture in neighbouring Zimbabwe where white commercial farmers were often violently evicted by President Robert Mugabe's government.
Pretoria has vowed that its own version of this programme will be orderly.
Zuma said the land reform programme should be expanded beyond simply handing land to blacks, to include the development of rural areas.
"Land acquisition should be linked to clear rural development programmes, which will include infrastructure development to produce thriving rural economies and ensure sustainable development," Zuma said.
The ANC president has previously criticised South Africa's land reform programme for failing to curb rural poverty. - Reuters

News - South Africa: South Africa must step up land reform - Zuma

 

Should we just save ourselves some trouble and just change our name now to Zimbabwe? Because the land reforms worked so incredibly well in other countries that have tried it.

As the days go by, JZ is resembling Bob more and more. Wonder when he is going to grow a little moustache – or does that only happen right at the end when they are completely and utterly insane (as opposed to just slightly mad)?

One new booming business

 

Still more countercyclical assets

Pretty soon we'll get to the point where almost everything in this economy of ours is booming:

All over sunny San Diego, tough economic times have forced people to cut back on their $4 lattes and sushi dinners. But one new business is booming -- and ka-booming -- precisely because of frustration from the worst financial crisis to hit the United States in decades.  Welcome to Sarah's Smash Shack, where pent-up patrons can relieve stress by hurling dinnerware and bric-a-brac against a wall, as hard as they can, day and night, seven days a week.  San Diego entrepreneur Sarah Lavely charges her clients $10 and up to pulverize plates and glasses during 15-minute intervals. Music blares, clients dress in protective gear and a neon sign urges them to "Break More Stuff."(...)San Diego may boast surf and sunshine year round, but it also has its share of black economic clouds. Its real estate market has been hit hard by the high rate of foreclosures in California, the second highest in the nation, and its unemployment rate has risen to 6.4 percent from 4.8 percent in a year...

Here is the link and I thank John de Palma for the pointer.

Source: Marginal Revolution: Still more countercyclical assets

Trevor Manuel, 10 ministers quit

 

Johannesburg - Finance Minister Trevor Manuel is among 11 Cabinet ministers and three deputy ministers who have resigned.

Their letters of resignation had been received by President Thabo Mbeki "which, regretfully, he has had to accept", the presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.

They included Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who earlier in the day announced her resignation from the position, to which she was appointed after ANC president Jacob Zuma was released from his responsibilities as deputy president in 2005. One of the reasons she gave was to allow a new president the opportunity to choose their own deputy.

The other resignations were of the Ministers of: Defence, Mosiuoa Lekota; Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad; Intelligence, Ronnie Kasrils; Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour; Public Enterprises, Alec Erwin; Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena; Public Works, Thoko Didiza; Provincial and Local Government, Sydney Mufamadi; and Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi.

The deputy ministers who resigned are: Foreign Affairs, Aziz Pahad; Finance, Jabu Moleketi and Correctional Services, Loretta Jacobus.

"The resignations will be effective from the day that the president's resignation takes effect [Thursday]," the presidency said.

"All the ministers have expressed their availability to assist the incoming administration in the hand-over process and any other assistance that might be sought from them.

"President Mbeki thanked the deputy president, the ministers and the deputy ministers for their dedicated service to the nation and wished them well in their future endeavours," it said.

Trevor Manuel, 10 ministers quit: South Africa: The End of Mbeki: News24

 

I can’t say that I am overly surprised by this news. Nor am I terribly vexed by it either. I am disappointed that Manto has not added her name to the list, but I guess she still has some more vegetables to peddle. But, we are rid of Big Ears Erwin *happy dance*

Where does this leave us as a country?

Mothlanthe will need to appoint new ministers into those positions, and will need to do so soon to avoid major upheaval. The news of Manual’s resignation did dent the Rand’s strength a fair bit, and it may have a further economic impact – but we will need to wait and see.

I suspect there is some strategy involved from the Mbeki camp, as this weakens the Zuma camp tremendously. There is also talk of the ANC splintering, and possibly a new party being born.
Either way, Mothlanthe was, apparently, appointed only as interim president, which means they have to call an election within 120 days - meaning we will go to the polls end of January. The ANC is by no means ready for this, and will affect them negatively in the upcoming elections.

The most important thing now is to stay calm, and see what our government does. I can only hope that the opposition parties can unite in some way before the elections to form a single, strong opposition to provide some kind of alternative to the obviously flailing ANC.