some more of Ravi Zacharias...

The strongest argument against the existence of God, is that people say there is too much of evil in this world and too much suffering therefore there is no God. But can you not then see what is brought in through the back door in that question. Because if there's evil, there's good, if there's good there has to be a moral law, if there's a moral law there has to be a transcendent moral law giver but that's what the question is trying to disprove and not prove. Because if there is no moral law giver then there's no moral law, and if there's no moral law there's no good and if there's not good there's no evil, and then what is the question really?

So the strongest argument against the existence of God actually assumes God in the question.

-by Ravi Zacharias

there's a hole in my packet, dear iBurst, dear iBurst

The conversation is so old, it's actually boring now. I've heard it so many times, and I'm actually as tired of hearing it as I am experiencing it. The age old how we in South Africa get inferior product/service for inflated costs. Often, there are also no redeeming factors! What I mean is, when I buy a Sony I expect a high standard of quality. Thats with Sony, but with our local business, very often we pay a premium for rubbish. And I believe it's only because we are starved for choice.

My gripe today is with iBurst. And with Eskom. And with the municipality. The story starts with Eskom. I'm still not sure whether it's called load shedding or load sharing. The latter makes more sense to me but I've heard both and so kind of mumble the last word to avoid embarrassment: "load sh (mumble) ing". So, just after 10 today it happens again at my home-office.... "hmm, darn, work from coffee shop" I think to myself as I head off towards Kyalami. Ofcouse, once again I forget to take the alternative route and I'm forced to use the road that hasn't been maintained in over a year and it falling apart... Literally, I could close my eyes and think I'm in Mozambique! Thats a bit dangerous for the other drivers, so eyes open I avoid the potholes (some places more of the road is a large pothole than road)... Now I know why most people in jhb drive a 4x4 - they're only avoiding ruining their cars on the roads. After a morning at the coffee shop I head back to my home, power having been returned, load sh___ing over. Fire up good old iBurst... well, not so good.

I encounter the signal I've grown used to - one little dot on my modem. I struggle to even send out an email. Everything is slow, slower than dial-up... First, a bit of history. When I first got iBurst, I had about 100%-95% signal, all the time (five little green dots). Then, after about 8 months, this all changed drastically, and I've had consistently poor signal for the most part (one to two little dots), except some weekend I get a "burst" of good signal. I have contacted iBurst about this before. I was told there was interference because of buildings, or sun spots, or some koalas nesting on the antennas or something. Anyhoo, pretty much there's nothing they can (or want to) do about it. And no, they can't send me some more replacement little green dots.

Honestly, the connection is so bad that when I try an SVN commit to the server (read: sending 3 text files) - it times out and corrupts the synchronisation of the project.

So, after intense and ongoing frustration (did I mention I'm trying to run a business) - I email them and tell them I'm fed up and want to stop my service. I mention that I suspect saturation being the cause of my frustration with them. I literally pour my heart out into this mail... Hoping them to reply after looking into the matter. Or at least to reply saying they might maybe on a good day, if there's nothing else to do... consider maybe perhaps looking into it.. maybe. Nothing. No reply. Maybe they did reply, but they also can't send mails out because of their connections problems!

I know that this is a local regional problem, because my connection in Somerset West was flying! Though, I imagine that to be because the 5 other people on the Somerset West network weren't downloading at the time!

That being said, I've decided to take this matter to my fan-base. (See Flight of the Concords to understand that one). What I'm afraid of is leaving iBurst for an even poorer experience with Telkom (I've heard the stories), because then I'll be dealing with one of the big stuff-up buzzwords of Afrique du Sud.
Hmm, let's hope I can post this without timing out... pfff.

untitled

standing, looking at the people, walking in their routine, addicted to their schedules
appointments made - keep busy, thats when we won't notice
something's sorely missing
this life we're all so happily escaping
searching for
anything that will pass the time
anything that will close our eyes
anything that will justify, ourselves.

the smile fades, tears come slowly rolling, down the face of hope,
now, realising the sharp pain
seeing the rejected disgraced and the shallow esteemed

starting to run now
the goal in sight
to empty the depth and fill it with emptiness
to scrape away the very last spot of a reminder of the nobler cause
and polish the bubble and fake smile
the teeth for laughing also for biting
words of hatred wrapped in eloquence

comatose we live, and in a lie we lie and sleep
dreaming that things are better this way

a slave to our freedoms, trapped in our own snares
the more we struggle to rest, the more the rest struggle
as they realise too, that nobody cares

spiral downwards into a dark and lonely place
no longer high on the fumes of getting by, a seeker finds that he is lost
and now at last
he can be found.

hasta la vista...

I have Vista Business edition installed on my Macbook. I think I posted about it earlier. I hardly use it, but when I do it is a refreshing change and I don't come up with too many problems worth griping about. Well, tonight was different. I wanted to watch a DVD on GoogleWhacking my friend loaned me, and I happened to be in Vista running Virus updates and patches... Well, i insert the DVD, and it politely tells me that i'll use Windows Media 11 to show it. Fair enough, click ok. Then Windows Media moans that I don't have the correct plugin to watch a DVD. huh? This can't be right. Cancel or Web Info... Web Info obviously: I get this...

"If you're running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, DVD capabilities are included as part of the operating system. If you are running Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Vista Enterprise, you can enhance your DVD playback experience by purchasing a DVD decoder pack or by upgrading to a more powerful edition of Windows Vista. "

(Don't believe me? Click here and see!)

Excuse me? PURCHASING? So shelling out a few grand (in ZAR) for Vista wasn't enough to buy me the rights to play a movie, I gotta pay another $15?

This is laughable! I would love them to add this side note: "If you happen to be a mac user, you can alternatively reboot into Mac OS X which comes with your machine at no extra cost and watch a DVD on the included DVD player." Because this is exactly what I did. Shame, poor Vista Business and Enterprise users...

I can actually imagine the suits back at the MS Redmond HQ who thought of this. "I'm a business user and I NEVER need to watch a DVD at work, all I do is type spreadsheets and write proposals."

charity begins at...

www.rayofhope.co.za

Check it out, every year a bunch of people throw a Christmas party for various orphaned kids. They have a day full of fun, food and gifts. I know for a fact the money goes directly to the kid's benefit as I've attended last year and seen it myself! People, consider digging deep in your pockets if not getting personally involved. Else get involved next year... Details on the site.

Out of interest, the site was done by the hard work of the students of my training course. Contact me for more info on that.

new pics up

Saturday night my friend Max convinced me that we need to go out and take some night pics with our cameras. We went to a look-out in Linksfield Ridge where we snapped away happily. My first few weren't done with a tripod, but then I used Max's and the results were significantly better. My Camera is a Sony Alpha 100 that I got in April. Check out the album here.

i deserve

I tasted fruit that was forbidden
I murdered trust that you had given
And now I'm living in a place that's not my home
The pain in your heart made you regret
The moment we spoke, did you forget?
Will my transgressions bring us all to our sweet end?
Maybe I'm just being too hard on myself. I don't know
Or is it that your mercy is much more than I deserve?

Betrayed by more than just a kiss
I did much more I must admit
Instead of letting it all end you bring new hope

(words to the song "I Deserve", by Third Day, from their second album - Conspiracy Theory # 5)

some thoughts on science in the Bible

The thought was raised from an infidel friend that if the bible is in fact of divine origin, it should have some proof testifying to this fact.
The example he gave was the book containing the number PI to the 100th decimal or something about nuclear fission that we only know about now. Now, there is no PI to the hundredth or Nuclear Fission appendices in the bible. He has actually raised a very good point. It would be a strong argument for the Divine involvement in the scriptures if anything known (discovered) only recently was embedded in scriptures written thousands of years ago.

One must remember not to let today's general knowledge dim this gem. To put it in perspective, if only man-made - one would expect the scriptures to only contain commonly held views at the time of them being written. And so anything true and verifiable that goes against the common wisdom of the day, should stand out glaringly, which it does.

OK, so let's see some substance. One great place to start is in the book of Job. According to Henrietta Mears, Job is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, books in the bible. What a great place to start. Also, much of Job has God boldly declaring Himself and questioning Job's knowledge in contrast to God's wisdom.

Job 26:7 mentions that earth free-floats in space. "He stretches out the north over the void, and hangs the earth upon nothing". Common wisdom of the day said that the earth sat on a large animal.

Here are some other references that you might find interesting. Bear in mind, the bible is not a science text book, but when it touches on topics of science, one would expect it to be accurate if indeed it is true. This is what we find:

Bible: Light moves (Job 38: 19,20)
Wisdom then: Light was fixed
Science now: Light moves

Bible: Air has weight (Job 28:25)
Wisdom then: Air was weightless
Science now: Air has weight

Bible: Each star is different (1 Cor 15:41)
Wisdom then: Stars were the same
Science now: Each star is different

Bible: The earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22)
Wisdom then: The earth was flat
Science now: The earth is a sphere

This one is pretty impressive --
Bible: The ocean has springs (Job 38:16)
Wisdom then: Ocean only fed by rivers and rain
Science now: The ocean has springs. The ocean is very deep, with almost all the ocean floor being in total darkness with enormous pressure. It would have been impossible for Job (or anyone in the time of Job) to explore the springs in the sea. In the 1970's, with the help of deep diving research submarines that were constructed to withstand 6000 pounds-per-square-inch pressure, oceanographers discovered springs on the ocean floors.

Some more amazing facts:
The bible describes the Hydrological cycle (Ecclesiastes 1:7; Jeremiah 10:13; Amos 9:6). Four thousand years ago the Bible declared that God "draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man" (Job 36:27-28). The ancients observed mighty rivers flowing into the ocean, but they could not conceive why the sea level never rose. Though they observed rainfall, they had only quaint theories as to its origin. Meteorologists now understand that the hydrological cycle consists of evaporation, atmospheric transportation, distillation and precipitation.

The universe is expanding (Job 9:8; Isaiah 42:5; Jeremiah 51:15; Zechariah 12:1). Repeatedly God declares that He stretches out the heavens. During the early 20th century, most scientists (including Einstein) believed that the universe was static. Other believed it should have collapsed due to gravity. Then in 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble showed that the distant galaxies were receding from the earth, and the further away they were, the faster they were moving. This discovery revolutionised the field of astronomy. Einstein admitted his mistake, and today most astronomers agree with what the creator told us millennia ago - the universe is expanding!

Check out many more items here: http://www.eternal-productions.org/101science.html

leopard bites some users

Ok, so I was a bit spontaneous. I should never hastily rush and install a new Operating System the day of it's release. Nope, nothing is wrong, well at least with my installation! But i'm hearing reports of bad installs (blue screens of death) and other reports of odd things, like the latest version of Java not being supported on Leopard. Hmm. Hopefully those can quickly be resolved, and luckily I didn't encounter the blue screen and I'm not a Java developer (though I aspire to be one day!)

So, I'm fortunate - no hassles and an awesome OS, pity that these things are marring what would otherwise be a most excellent upgrade. I guess the pressure of a set deadline gets to everyone, even Apple.

leopard being released today

OK, For a while I resisted. I told myself that I wouldn't be one of those sad individuals who's go to an OS launch and buy the new OS just because. Well now it seems I've stooped to a new level, I'm going to be one of those sad individuals. Leopard will be in my paws in a few hours... Hopefully I'll smile more than when I successfully put Vista on my machine.

I'm not going to do a review like EVERYONE ELSE who has both a mac and a blog. I'll spare you all...

victory whine made from sour grapes...

My comments on this article: http://it-online.co.za/content/view/162500/142/

I think the hi-jacking of the event into a political game is both sad, pathetic, and counter-progressive. Yes, political correctness does have an ugly side, and it's bearing itself here.

I have a question for the politicians: if there were a majority "of-colour" representation in our team, and instead of going to the finals we failed to reach the semi finals, would your of-colour-lust be appeased?

It should be about talent. Sure, train up anyone, get them skilled, but then choose a team on talent and teamwork, not on melanin levels.

time to reflect

Very often for me a large part of living in the city means that some important things get neglected. You get so caught up in the buzz that things go un-noticed or unprayed for, sometimes for months on end.
Some bad news this morning reminded me how important it is to keep praying: for the people in our neighbourhood, for our leaders in government. For justice of the wicked and mercy for the oppressed and destitute. I was also reminded to pray for our brothers and sisters in places where freedom to follow God is hindered or outlawed.
Check these stories:

CHINA: Prominent House Church Leader Repeatedly Beaten by Police – China Aid Association
On October 11, prominent house church leader, Hua Huiqi, was repeatedly attacked by police at his home. According to China Aid Association, "Hua was reading his Bible at his home despite police surrounding his house. He was sent to Beijing Tiantan Hospital, because he lost consciousness after repeated beatings from the police." China's Public Security Bureau (PSB) recently put Hua under house arrest. PSB officers had been surrounding his house when they attacked him. Pastor Hua's 77-year-old mother, Shuang Shuying, remains very ill in prison, serving a two-year sentence. VOM contacts say she is being held hostage by police in order to put pressure on Pastor Hua to reveal names and information of believers. Pray for Hua's speedy recovery and for God to encourage him. Ask the Holy Spirit to convict his attackers and draw them into the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

GAZA STRIP: Gaza Bible Society Worker Murdered – Christian Broadcasting Network
On October 7, 26-year-old Rami Ayyad's body was recovered near the Teachers' Bookshop in the Palestinian territory of Gaza where he worked. His body had stab wounds and bullet holes. According to the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Ayyad was kidnapped the day before by an unidentified group. CBN quoted the spokesperson for the Palestinian Bible Society, Simon Azazian, who said, "We do not know the exact identity of the group, but we know he was martyred for his faith in Christ." The report added, "Ayyad told co-workers he'd noticed a car with no license plates following him. At 6 p.m. (on Saturday), his wife received a phone call from him saying he'd been taken captive by a group of people and would be home late. A second phone call relayed the same message." Rami is survived by his pregnant wife and two young children. Pray the Holy Spirit comforts his family during this difficult time. Pray Rami's testimony will bring non-believers, especially his killers, into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Ask God to protect believers in Gaza. Psalm 23, Psalm 91

SUDAN: Suicide Bomber Kills Youth, Wounds Others in Sudanese Church – VOM Sources
On September 27, a suicide bomber in military clothing detonated a grenade, killing five youth and critically wounding four others, in Sudan's Upper Nile state. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts in Sudan, "A pastor was having an overnight service in Khorfullus town, when an unidentified man walked into the service and detonated a grenade, killing himself, five children and critically wounding four others, including the pastor and his wife." VOM contacts added that the bomber was dressed in full military clothing, normally worn by government officials. VOM is assisting families affected by this tragedy during this difficult time. Pray God comforts and encourages the families of those killed. Pray for a speedy recovery for those injured. Psalm 118: 17, Isaiah 40:31

source: Voice of the Martyrs USA

what a weekend!

saturday: crater cruise.
I started off really early to get to my friends place on time to get to the race in Paryl on time for the start. On my way, half asleep I drove past Hans Strydom drive and found the sign said something like MollyBingo drive. Another name change, another sense of foreign familiarity. I pressed on.
We got to Parys in time for the start but stared up at the ominous storm clouds with hesitation. Should we pack it in and go find breakfast somewhere? No, we ride. I remembered that I didn't bring my raincoat and prepared myself for a very wet 106km. The funny thing about the start of the race, is that we didn't officially start! We were looking for the start, riding around Parys on our bikes, and got directed by some very friendly cops along the way, little did we know that we'd joined the actual race.
The nice thing bout the crater cruise, i was told, is that it's flat. Well, this year they decided to throw in a hill or two. Which was nice variety, but I don't do hills too well.
I was an incredible race, and great to see so many people participating. See, we actually caught up with a bunch of people at the one crossing of the crater, which was bottle necked and had a queue of riders going back far. Being from Joburg, queues and lot's of people was a welcome sight. In races (esp. sprint adventure races) - it's normal for me to be so far back that you don't see others for a long way!!
After an hour or two, the clouds gave way to some sun and we got a good roasting. Better than being drenched in my opinion!
My friend was right, those last 10km were the longest 10km in my whole life! So much for me gunning it in the end. I was very glad when i saw the finish line, but they tease you - you're right there, and then the route turns away and you go through this bushy one track maze before you actually get there. All in all, it was a great race. Not too much corrugation also, I think they'd graded many of the dirt roads.
I'll definitely do it again. Next time, I'll gun it in the last 10km!

sunday: what a game!
What can I say, what an awesome game. Both teams played with heart but we were really performed well. It was a very exciting game to watch, esp. those break-away tries (well, one official and one not awarded)!
All I have to say about next Saturday is: BOKKE!!

apple getting greener

A very interesting trend to watch in corporations (those which manufacture products) - is their attention to the environment. This is obviously a positive effect of not only laws passed, but pressure applied from various environment lobby groups. While I'm not a vegetarian tree hugger myself, I fully stand on the fact that we should look after God's creation as best we can, and so I recognise the good progress we're making on this front.

Check out this link here.

council of europe's parliamentary assembly: stomps on creationism

"The Parliamentary Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread of creationist ideas within our education systems and about the consequences for our democracies. If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights which are a key concern of the Council of Europe... The Parliamentary Assembly therefore urges the member states, and especially their education authorities to firmly oppose the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution and in general resist presentation of creationist ideas in any discipline other than religion and to promote the teaching of evolution as a fundamental scientific theory in the school curriculum."

See the story here.

Ok, so a few points.

• The stomping out of creationism as an option presented at school levels, happening in the political arena, is a clear display of censorship based on fanaticism. To fanatically opposed something because you fear it'll be fanatical would actually be quite funny if it wasn't so sad.
• If the science of creationism is bad and unscientific, show us scientifically, right? I mean, an attitude of "it's not evolution so it's unscientific" doesn't display the empirical kind of science you want to supposedly promote.
• See my previous post on truth. If macro-evolution (pond-scum to man) is true, then presenting an alternative view in the scientific arena will stimulate thought, and it will allow our young future scientists to present a decent case against creationism. If however, it is not true, then you certainly have something to worry about because more holes will be poked into it. Is that what concerns you?
  
• To prohibit creationism to protect human rights? I'm actually struggling to read between the lines here. It could either mean, 1) we don't want young, scientifically justified creationists blowing themselves up in buses in central London.. or 2) we value our new evolutionarily-justified values and freedoms to do whatever we please without feeling guilty about a God, so we want to keep this and not have some creationist having a strong case. We don't want these young creationist students to come into parliament in a few years and change our laws to remove our self-serving freedoms.
  

I happen to be a creationist, and a young-earther-6000-years-since-Adam kind! And I notice how we teach our kids that same sex relationships are natural (though biologically this doesn't float) - and on the other hand, we refuse to tell our kids about intelligent design and creationism, because it might impact our lifestyle later.

more free stuff

Went into CycleLab at the Extreme Centre on William Nicol to pick up packs for the Crater Cruise race this weekend. Popped inside CycleLab and was pleased to be told about an EAS promotion they're having. I left fully equipped for the race on Sat with energy bars, gel, and even powdered drink. Check it out...

truth

The very fires used to try destroy the truth provide a light and heat which reveal clearly the truth being attacked. Ultimately, truth cannot be destroyed. It can be put down, killed and buried for a period, but in it's very nature it has the ability to rise up again and boldly proclaim itself. People can mock it, deny it, try to ignore it, but it stands regardless of our best or worst efforts.

desmond tutu lashes out

Desmond Tutu has made some surprising statements recently in an address in Cape Town. I say surprising not because they are words that you don't hear often, I say this because they betray his so-called calling as a man who represented the church, who was a bishop even. It gets ugly when (supposed) ministers seek political esteem.

What he said can be seen here: Heaven's not for Christians only.

Let's look at some of his statements quickly:

• Most of us think God is a Christian, but if you think that God is going to tell the Dalai Lama 'you're a good person, but sorry you're not a Christian' then (I say) rubbish.

Um, ok. I also say rubbish, here's why: Getting to heaven is NOT based on good works, but on God's work done in Jesus Christ. To sum it up quickly, we're all rubishes, whether we believe it or not. If judged by the law of God, even the Dalai Lama would fall short, even Ghandi, even Mother Theresa! Mother Theresa won't get to heaven on her good deeds, but on the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, and her reliance on that will attribute God's righteousness to her by FAITH, which should cause her to live a devout life, full of good works.

I agree that God is not a Christian, a Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God, and God the Father.

• "We've conveniently forgotten that Christians burnt witches at the stake. It wasn't pagans responsible for the Nazi genocide - it was Christians," Tutu said.

Woah D.T., what's with the poison for the people you claim to serve and represent? Anyhoo - The biblical definition of a follower of Christ is just that, a follower of Christ. The bible states clearly that if you claim to love God, yet hate your brother, you're a liar and the truth is not in you. My argument would be, someone doing heinous things would NOT qualify to be called a follower of Christ, even if they proclaim it themselves. It's kinda like me saying I'm a vegetarian while tucking into a large juicy steak.

Besides, in my opinion - It is a stronger argument to say that Nietzsche and evolutionism influenced Hitler more than Christianity.

• He said it had also been claimed that apartheid was supported by the scriptures and the symbol of the Ku Klux Klan was a cross.

Ah yes, I hear this often. Anything can be twisted way out of context to suit your needs. I think that D.T. wants to take something that still incites a lot of raw (and validly so) emotion, namely racism, and pin that blame badge to Christianity. History does reject this though, it was Christianity that freed up America from slavery. The same in Britain with John Newton and William Wilberforce. I believe it had a strong role to play in freeing up this nation too. All the while, in all cases, you have your people twisting scriptures to justify their views.

To sum up, I think D.T. has used some popular pithy sayings to gain acceptance from his audience. I don't think he's looked into the topic, and it's clear he no longer stands on orthodox Christian teachings. In fact, he seems to have turned about-face, attacking the church with his views which lean towards universalism.

I'll end with a quote from G.K. Chesterton (from Orthodoxy):

Thoroughly worldly people never understand even the world; they rely altogether on a few cynical maxims which are not true.

new delicious built in symfony

From the Symfony website:
If you are a reader of TechCrunch, Read/WriteWeb, or ZDNet you may already know that there is a preview of the next version of del.icio.us. What you might not know is that the next version of Delicious is built with symfony. Of course, Yahoo! extended and modified symfony to fit their needs, but what's great is that they could actually do it, and that they will contribute their modifications back to the community in the form of plugins and bug fixes.
See more here.

This is obviously great news for all us Symfony developers. If you're a PHP'er I would highly recommend checking out this great framework.

i love free stuff!

For the next 60 days Sitepoint is having a promotion for a full copy of one of their books, Ruby on Rails Web Applications, to be available for PDF download for free. It's available here.

Also, though this is old news, Symfony's development book is available online for free here. This is a really excellent book for Symfony developers, I bought a copy cos flipping thru a new shiny book is always nicer.

make me Thy fuel

I heard this from a talk by Ravi Zacharias...

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher,
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the crucified)
From all that dims Thy Calvary,
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod:
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

by Amy Carmichael

linux ipod woe's

In reading this article, it's clear that Apple are effectively shutting out Linux users from using the new iPods. There is currently no iTunes for Linux, and no signals that one will be developed in the near future. They have changed the structure of how the iPod works, encrypting the database with a hash that ties that database to the iPod.

My opinion is this: that Apple should be more platform friendly towards Linux, especially with it's iPod support. Look at Adobe releasing the Flash plugin for Linux, as well as Microsoft's Silverlight plugin. Bring out an iTunes-light for Linux, make it open-source, let the Linux community manage it themselves. Sure, people will know the inside of your software, but rather have it this way and control it, than have some person reverse engineer it and you're left with the impression of being the big bad guy.

Maybe don't even make it open source, but release a core linux version with an API, and let the people build it.

You successfully took the digital music arena, which was a mishmash of illegal copying, file sharing, etc - and made a very lucrative business model from it. I'm sure you can do the same in this case if you apply yourselves.

!!!

is the news trying to make me cry?

take a look at this: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/1255.html

:-/

hopes for fast internet DASHED

Regarding the undersea cables.

A few weeks ago I got really excited at the prospect of decent internet bandwidth. While primary thinking of myself, my own usage, and my business - I also thought about how positively it would affect our economy and our international business ties.
Now, just a few weeks later, what was a beam of hope for many of us has disappeared as the dark clouds of bureaucracy drift in.

What is OBVIOUSLY more important to our Minister of Communication, is ownership and control over this pipe, obviously, because it can be quite a lucrative endeavour, because if it's locally owned, the pricing for the bandwidth can be unrealistically high, and once again the popular pass-time of milking the countrymen (as seen in the new car industry, the cell phone industry, the banking industry and currently the internet connectivity industry) can ensure than some key players make their fortunes.

This...
Sickens...
Me...

What can be done? Honestly, what is left for your average South African to do? I mean, if we take to the streets in protest (which we won't) will it actually matter? What will make a difference, when people in high positions are so feverishly set on greed rather than the good of the nation.

Is that truly the theme of this continent: The benefit of the few at the expense of many? Why are we marching to the beat of something which shouldn't be part of what South Africa is all about? No no no NO. That's the old system! Times of change must come, they have to.

Zille detained

Now and then I get an uneasy feeling, like I get a glimpse of something that should set off warning bells, but then I look around, and either no one else has noticed, or they just don't care. Like one of those movies where you're watching and things slip quickly into a precarious situation. Perhaps it's just a healthy dose of paranoia or a tendency for the dramatic; even so, sometimes I think we don't join the dots where maybe we should. I'll do another post on this soon, taking a completely different direction...

Hearing about what happened to Helen Zille yesterday concerned me. She was arrested and detained for an apparently legal and peaceful march. Read the details here and here. Two other things sprung to my mind: the farewell to the deputy minister of health, which i commented on here. Also the whole McBride incident (which is a whole other story).

In my mind, there are three probable explanations of yesterdays activities: 1- it was just an embarrassing bungle on the part of the police. Hindsight is 20/20 they say, and perhaps under the circumstances, they just thought they did what they should. 2- Some officer felt his authority challenged, and his ego got damaged and so he acted stupidly/rashly. 3- this was a calculated (political) move from the powers that be, in which case we'll probably never find this out. There are other possible scenarios, but from what I've heard these explain things the best to me. With my view on the deputy minister's dismissal, you can probably guess which explanation I'm currently leaning on! I do, however, sincerely hope I'm wrong.