Saturday, March 24, 2012

How to browse Hulu.com from South Africa with a SSH Tunnel


1) Download Cygwin
2) Make sure to install OpenSSH with Cygwin
3) Run SSH Command to create SSH tunnel and local socks proxy
3.1) # ssh -D 1080 username@yourdomain.co.za
4) Configure Firefox settings to use local proxy.
5) Browse Hulu :)

The video has more details instructions.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

My South African playlist

Chilled Tunes

Quite a white ou


Freshly Ground - Doo be Doo


Just Jinjer - What He Means


Waka Waka -This Time for Africa


FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 Official Theme Song


Rocking South Africa

Springbok Nude Girls - Blue Eyes


Mandoza - Nkalakatha


Die Antwoord - Evil boy


Die Antwoord - I Fink U Freeky 


Seether - Fake It


Transkei Cowboys - AfFreakCan


Mandoza - Indoda


Die Antwoord - Enter the Ninja


Old School Vibes

Helmut Lotti - Tula Tula


Helmut Lotti - Qongqothwane


Johnny Clegg (With Nelson Mandela) - Asimbonanga





Saturday, March 10, 2012

Who should own the Falklands?



Over the last decade or so I have watched Argentina grow as a country. It is a beautiful country with much fertile land. I love Argentina in the game of rugby as well. They are one of those tough South American teams that play some excellent rugby. What I don't like about Argentina is it irrational and nationalistic claim to have rights controlling the Falkland Islands.

To any Argentinian reading this, I apologize now if what I said caused you offensive but please allow me to explain to you why what you are doing is irrational and negative.

When looking at Argentina's claims to be the rightful owner of the Falklands you have to take everything into perspective. You have to consider the history of the area, the geography of the area and most importantly, the  people of the area.

Lets start with the historical claim.

Does Argentina have a historical claim to the Falkland Islands?

There is no evidence of any of pre-Columbian buildings or structures. While a canoes and some arrowheads belonging to the Yaghan people were found on the island it is ambiguous as if they pre-date European settlers as there were Yaghan people at Patagonian Missionary Society mission station on Keppel Island in 1856 and these artefacts may be from them.

Needless to say, Europeans had settled and were settled on the Falkland Islands before anyone else. The Falkland Islands seems to have crept onto European Maps by early Spanish explorers, however it was John Davis (blown off course) who was the first one to mark the islands accurately on a map on 9 August 1592. The islands were later confirmed by English commander Richard Hawkins in 1594.

The islands underwent many name changes through the years as different European nations discovered and named them, but it English Captain John Strong who named them the Falkland Sounds after  Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland, who as Commissioner of the Admiralty (and whom had financed his journey).

The first settlement on the islands came from France. France established a colony on one the Falkland Sounds in 1764 at Port St. Louis. The British aware of this put their own colony on one of the other islands and claimed the territory in 1765. These events were nearly the cause of a war between Britain and Spain and both countries sent forces to the area. France withdrew from their colony in 1766 and gave control of their island over to the Spanish who took control of the island in 1767.

Due to the costly American War of Independence and the lack of ability for the British Empire to defend the islands (and many of its other colonies) they were evacuated on 20th of May 1776. The British commander who evacuated from the island left behind a plaque confirming British sovereignty over the islands. Spain then ruled the Islands from Buenos Aires until 1811.

Before Europeans came there were no  indigenous  people, settlements or even tree`s. With the arrival of European settlements on the Islands, the European settlers planted the tree`s and raised settlements and introduced the domestic animals.

Historically it is clear that the people of Argentina have no historical claim to the Falkland Islands. They did not discover them, they were not part of the first settlements... and in fact, Argentina was not even a country while this was all happening.

The Independence of Argentina was only declared on July 9, 1816. I am not sure if this is the official birth date of Argentina but it is the one I am using. The area that we call Argentina has being controlled my many colonizers over the centuries and the Inca colonizers had long since pushed out most of the local indigenous  people out of the area. The Spanish colonizers conquered the area from the Inca colonizers and there were a lot of fights for who controlled that area of the world. So I take the time of its birth of Argentina when the people of Argentina decided on their own self determination.

Does Argentina have geographical claims to the Falkland Islands?

To put it simply. No they do not. Not by any reasonable measure. Before I go into detail as to why they have no geographical claims to the Falkland Islands let me speak of my own country. If you go and look at a map of South Africa you will notice there is a hole in the middle of it. That is the country of Lesotho and we have another country called Swaziland that exists mostly within our borders. So I speak from a country where we gave people`s within our borders the right to self determination.

This is important to note this because it highlights the silliness of the claim that the Falklands belongs to Argentina because the Falkland Islands closest neighbour is Argentina. International maritime law is pretty clear about this.

According to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the territorial waters around a country are clearly defined as 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi). The Falkland Islands are clearly beyond any real geographical territorial claims of any country. Around countries you also get something called an "Exclusive Economic Zone". This extends 200 nautical miles from the coast line. Even if one had to use that as a geographical premiss for a claim for sovereignty over the islands the Falkland Islands would still not belong to Argentina.

The Falklands exists  250 nautical miles (460 km; 290 mi) off the coat of mainland South America. Thats a huge distance. You could put several European countries in between the Falkland Islands and Argentina if you could rearrange the world like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

The single most important deciding factor


This completely trumps historical and geographical claims to the Falkland Islands and is the single most important factor to consider when deciding who has  sovereignty  over the islands. What do the people who live there say? What is their opinion? What do they want?

This is one issue they are not confused about. Let me quote from The Penguin News, the official newspaper on the Falkland Islands:


TAKING advantage of the presence of UK and foreign press in the Falkland Islands, many Stanley residents formed a convoy of vehicles displaying Falkland Islands and UK flags, and drove in a convoy along the Stanley Bypass Road late this afternoon.

In a demonstration that supported the policy of self-determination for Falkland Islanders
, the peaceful rally was photographed by Argentine and British press including The Sun newspaper.



That is it. Issue resolved. Things are very simple and clear cut to any reasonable human. Historically Argentina has very little claim to the islands. Geographically Argentina does not have any claims to the islands and last but not least, the people who live there want the right to self determination. That completely trumps any of the weak claims that Argentina has to the Falkland Islands. Argentina simply do not have the right to sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

Just as you the people of Argentina have the right to self determination you must allow that same freedom to other peoples. If you wish to have access to the resources recently discovered off the Falkland Islands you need to work together with the people of the Falklands to harvest those resources. There is only one way Argentina can get closer to the Falkland Islanders. Be friendly with them! Instead of invading and threatening them... become their friends.




Useful links:

Penguin News - Newspaper for the Falkland Islands: http://www.penguin-news.com/

End.


Please note, the following is a rough translation to Spanish of everything that is written above:


Durante la última década más o menos he visto a Argentina crecer como país. Es un país hermoso con mucha tierra fértil. Me encanta Argentina en el juego del rugby también. Se trata de uno de los equipos fuertes de América del Sur que juegan un excelente rugby. Lo que no me gusta de Argentina es que reclamo irracional y nacionalistas de tener derechos de control de las Islas Malvinas.

Para cualquier lectura argentino esto, pido disculpas ahora si lo que dije le causó ofensiva, pero permítanme explicarles por qué lo que está haciendo es irracional y negativo.

Al examinar alegaciones de la Argentina de ser el legítimo propietario de las Malvinas hay que tener todo en perspectiva. Usted tiene que considerar la historia de la zona, la geografía de la zona y lo más importante, la gente de la zona.

Vamos a empezar con la reivindicación histórica.

¿Tiene la Argentina tienen un reclamo histórico de las Islas Malvinas?

No hay evidencia de cualquiera de los pre-colombinos edificios o estructuras. Mientras que unos canoas y puntas de flecha algunos que pertenecen al pueblo yagán se encontraron en la isla, es ambigua, como si antes de la fecha de los colonos europeos, como había gente yaganes en la Patagonia estación de la misión de la Sociedad Misionera de Keppel Island en 1856 y estos artefactos puede ser de ellos .

No es necesario decir, los europeos se habían establecido y se asentaron en las Islas Malvinas antes que nadie. Las Islas Malvinas parece haberse deslizado en los mapas de Europa por los primeros exploradores españoles, sin embargo, fue John Davis (desviado de su trayectoria), que fue el primero en marcar las islas con precisión en un mapa, el 9 de agosto de 1592. Las islas fueron posteriormente confirmadas por el comandante Inglés Richard Hawkins en 1594.

Las islas sufrió muchos cambios de nombres a través de los años, diferentes países europeos descubrió que estaba acusado, pero el capitán John Strong Inglés que los nombró el Malvinas Suena después de que Anthony Cary, quinto vizconde Falkland, que como comisionado del Almirantazgo (y al que había financiado su viaje).

El primer asentamiento en las islas procedían de Francia. Francia estableció una colonia en una de las Malvinas Sounds en 1764 en el Puerto de San Luis. El conocimiento de esta británica puso su propia colonia en una de las otras islas y reclamó el territorio en 1765. Estos eventos fueron casi la causa de una guerra entre Gran Bretaña y España y ambos países enviaron fuerzas a la zona. Francia se retiró de su colonia en 1766 y le dio el control de su isla a los españoles que tomaron el control de la isla en 1767.

Debido a la costosa guerra de la Independencia estadounidense y la falta de capacidad para que el Imperio británico para defender las islas (y muchas de sus otras colonias) que fueron evacuados el 20 de mayo de 1776. El comandante británico que evacuados de la isla dejaron una placa que confirma la soberanía británica sobre las islas. España, entonces gobernado las islas desde Buenos Aires hasta 1811.

Antes de llegada de los europeos no había pueblos indígenas, los asentamientos o incluso árboles `s. Con la llegada de los asentamientos europeos en las Islas, los colonos europeos plantaron el árbol `s y los asentamientos planteados y presentó a los animales domésticos.

Históricamente, es evidente que la gente de Argentina no tienen ningún derecho histórico a las Islas Malvinas. Ellos no los descubren, no formaban parte de los primeros asentamientos ... y, de hecho, la Argentina no era ni siquiera un país, mientras que el que todo estaba sucediendo.

La Independencia de la Argentina fue declarada sólo el 9 de julio de 1816. No estoy seguro si esta es la fecha oficial de nacimiento de la Argentina, pero es el que estoy usando. El área que llamamos la Argentina está controlando mis muchos colonizadores durante siglos y los colonizadores Inca hacía tiempo que había expulsado la mayor parte de los pueblos indígenas locales fuera de la zona. Los colonizadores españoles conquistaron la zona de los colonizadores Inca y había un montón de peleas para los que controlaban esa zona del mundo. Así que me tomo el tiempo de su nacimiento de la Argentina, cuando el pueblo de la Argentina decidieron por su propia autodeterminación.

¿Tiene la Argentina tienen reclamos geográficas a las Islas Malvinas?

Para decirlo de manera simple. No, no lo hacen. No por cualquier medida razonable. Antes de entrar en detalle en cuanto a por qué no tienen derecho geográficas a las Islas Malvinas déjame hablar a mí de mi propio país. Si usted va y mira un mapa de Sudáfrica se dará cuenta de que hay un agujero en el centro de la misma. Ese es el país de Lesotho y tenemos otro país llamado Suazilandia que existe sobre todo dentro de nuestras fronteras. Así que hablar de un país donde se dio a la gente `s dentro de nuestras fronteras del derecho a la autodeterminación.

Esto es importante tener en cuenta esto, porque pone de relieve la estupidez de la afirmación de que las Malvinas pertenecen a Argentina por vecino más cercano de las Islas Malvinas es Argentina. Derecho marítimo internacional es bastante claro al respecto.

De acuerdo con la Convención de 1982 de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Derecho del Mar, las aguas territoriales en torno a un país se definen claramente como 12 millas náuticas (22 km, 14 km). Las Islas Malvinas son claramente más allá de las reales demandas geográficas territoriales de cualquier país. Alrededor de los países también se algo que se llama una "Zona Económica Exclusiva". Esto se extiende 200 millas náuticas desde la línea de costa. Incluso si uno tenía que usar eso como una premisa geográfica para una reclamación de soberanía sobre las islas de las Islas Malvinas no pertenecen todavía a la Argentina.

Las Malvinas existe 250 millas náuticas (460 km, 290 millas) fuera de la capa de la parte continental de América del Sur. Eso es una enorme distancia. Usted podría poner varios países europeos entre las Islas Malvinas y Argentina si se pudiera cambiar el mundo como un rompecabezas gigante.

El factor más importante para decidir

Esta completamente triunfa reclamaciones históricas y geográficas a las Islas Malvinas y es el factor más importante a considerar al momento de decidir quién tiene la soberanía sobre las islas. ¿Qué significan las personas que viven allí dicen? ¿Cuál es su opinión? ¿Qué quieren?

Este es un tema que no se confundan acerca. Permítanme citar el Penguin News, el periódico oficial en las Islas Malvinas:

Aprovechando la presencia de Reino Unido y la prensa extranjera en las Islas Malvinas, muchos residentes de Stanley formó un convoy de vehículos con las Islas Malvinas y las banderas del Reino Unido, y se dirigió en un convoy a lo largo de la carretera de circunvalación de Stanley esta tarde.

En una demostración de que apoyaba la política de la autodeterminación de las islas Malvinas, la manifestación pacífica fue fotografiado por la prensa argentina y británica incluyendo el periódico The Sun.

Eso es todo. Problema resuelto. Las cosas son muy simples y clara a cualquier ser humano razonable. Históricamente, Argentina tiene muy poca demanda de las islas. Geográficamente la Argentina no tiene ningún tipo de reclamaciones a las islas y por último pero no menos importante, las personas que viven allí quieren tener el derecho a la autodeterminación. Esto echa por tierra cualquier completamente de las reclamaciones débiles que Argentina tiene para las Islas Malvinas. Argentina simplemente no tienen el derecho a la soberanía de las Islas Malvinas.

Del mismo modo que la gente de la Argentina tiene el derecho a la autodeterminación debe permitir que esa misma libertad a otros pueblos. Si usted desea tener acceso a los recursos recientemente descubiertos frente a las Islas Malvinas que tienen que trabajar juntos con el pueblo de las Islas Malvinas para cosechar esos recursos. Sólo hay una manera de la Argentina puede estar más cerca de los isleños. Sé amable con ellos! En vez de invadir y amenazar a ellos ... se convierten en sus amigos.

Enlaces de interés:

Penguin News - Diario de las Islas Malvinas: http://www.penguin-news.com/



Thursday, March 8, 2012

Why you should not fly 1time airlines

For a long time now my family and I have been using 1time airlines. We were strong supporters of them as they serviced our city and as far as I know started up in our part of the world. The one time (pun no intended) I did have a problem with 1time.. the CEO contacted me and made an effort to help us. We were all really impressed and a bad situation was turned into a good situation by good management.

Our family have many businesses in East London and we often use 1time. Not just for their flights, but we use them for accommodation and car rental as well. We often purchase the complete travel packages from 1time.

I do not know what has happened recently but things have gone downhill. I think I can safely say that it feels that 1time believes it is above South African law and they are more interested in your money than they are interested in you.

My wife recently purchased tickets to fly from East London to Pretoria. My wife is studying to be a doctor in South Africa and she has to work with the HPCSA (whom are a little less than useful). Anyways. My wife was scheduled to write her exams in April, but this got changed to October.

So we contacted 1time airlines, fully intending to cancel our tickets now and purchase them again when we know the exact date of the next exam (which is only told to us later in the year).

My wife phones 1time and is informed by their call center that they do not do refunds? What?!? I said! The Consumer Protection Act from 2008 clearly states in Section 17 that a consumer is entitled to a refund. Especially when services have not yet being rendered. You can read up on the Consumer Protection Act here:
http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=99961

So by now I am spitting feathers. Who the heck are 1time. I made a complaint on HelloPeter.com only to be told by 1time again that their terms and conditions state that we are not allowed a refund.

Our complaint can be found here: http://www.hellopeter.com/1time-airline/complaints/no-refunds-hurt-families-754727

So I am upset now. 1time are starting to give me the perception as a predatory "fuck-the-public" type business. This is not something I expected from an airline that my family have been supporting for such a long time.

So I phone the 1time and try tell the woman who answers that what 1time are doing is against the law. The the Consumer Protection Act has more authority than their terms and conditions. The woman flat out ignores this and we have some words. Eventually she says she is going to pass the call onto the consumer complaints divisions and I am then passed onto someone called, "Daniella" (or something along the lines).

She again uses the same line that the call center woman used about their consumers. So again I highlight the Consumer Protection Act protects me from their predatory business model.

The woman says that the Consumer Protection Act allows me to cancel my flight FOR A REASONABLE FEE. Daniella then goes on to tell me that the "Reasonable fee" is 100% of the ticket price. On what planet is 100% of the ticket price considered a "reasonable fee"?

This is an incredibly disgusting business practice and one which I feel needs to be talked about. People need to know with whom theyre doing business and how far these people will bend the law to screw you out of money.

From my side. I am issuing my own terms and conditions to 1time.

1.1  I will never be flying with your airline ever again
1.2  I will be informing all my family, friends, business collegues and business assosciates about your predatory business practices.

2.1 I will email every single consumer advocate agency I know and be informing everyone about your predatory  business practices
2.2 I will be making a long blog post (this one) about your predatory business practices.
2.3 I will be making a website (perhaps something along the lines of 1lasttime.co.za. I run an Internet Service Provider so have servers and web development skills).

3. I will be taking you to the NCC for screwing your customers over.

If you have been shafted by 1time in a similar manner please lodge a complaint like I am doing with the NCC:
http://www.nccsa.org.za/index.php/Complaints/Complaints.html

I cant believe how 1time are willing to lose a customer for life with such dodgy business practices. Have they no common sense? Do they not understand that by hurting your customers they hurt themselves?

I am highly pissed off and rightfully so. I hope they are able to resolve this, but I do not think so.