Pantheistic Symphony

Sail by AWOLNation

2012-02-02T10:52:00.000+02:00

Democratic Youth League vs Afriforum Youth League: Which is best for you?

2012-01-28T13:28:00.000+02:00

Democratic Youth League vs Afriforum Youth League: Which is best for you?

Today I was driving home from the Spar listening to SAFM and specifically to an interview with the Afriforum Youth and I got to hear what the Afriforum Youth are all about. Within about 15 minutes I got a good idea of the direction of Afriforum Youth and I realize my political ideology and their political ideology are miles apart.

To help people understand the difference between Afriforum Youth and Democratic Alliance Youth I have made this simple comparison post.

The Democratic Alliance Youth are a liberal youth league.
Afriforum Youth are a conservative youth league.

The Democratic Alliance Youth believe in a strong separation between church and state.
Afriforum Youth League believe in a close integration for their religious beliefs and their politics.

The Democratic Alliance Youth stand for all people, of all colors and of all cultures.
Afriforum Youth are specifically focused on the preservation of the white Afrikaner culture.

Going through the Afriforum website I see they have a lot of decent policy... and some really scary policy. Like their insistence of using Christianity to guide their morality (this is the same religion that preaches of genocide, slavery and separatism). That conservative approach excludes one of the biggest (and persecuted) minorities in South Africa. The atheists and agnostics.

Afriforum is not for you if you are a liberal or a progressive. While some of their policy is applaudable... their approach lacks long term vision and perspective. They seem to have created a political orginization that is focused on one specific special interest minority.

These are the type of people that mobilize the Christian right wing when something offends their sensibilities (like the DASO poster and TopTV adult channel hysteria).

If the National Party was still around today in its original form.This is the type of youth league I would expect from them

They represent a support base of a few tens of thousands. I wish them the best of luck for their political future but until they liberalize their policies a little (ie be more inclusive), and learn the basic concepts of separating "church and state"... they can not be taken to seriously as a "civil rights" organization.

Somebody That I Used To Know

2012-01-27T20:31:00.003+02:00

Democratic Alliance Youth student poster and its meme's

2012-01-24T18:18:00.002+02:00

The Democratic Alliance Youth League recently released an edgy poster recently to convey a very important message and to promote dialogue on sensitive issues. As one would expect, the right-wing and conservatives of all races reacted a little hysterically and blew the issue out of proportion, while psychologically avoiding the real message.

Conservatives (who apparently have a lot to say about why this would affect their vote for a liberal party...) complained mostly of the nudity. It is a rather strange issue to get upset about as there is less nudity in the image than one would find in a Johnson & Johnson or Dove advert. It seems conservatives like to cherry pick exactly when showing skin is worth calling the church action committee `s together. The irony is, you can not tell if the woman or man are naked (or not) based on what is shown in the image. She may just be wearing a bikini on her way to the beach. Though probably not.

The image (as shown below). Conveys an important message that is important to a lot of the youth of South Africa. A sense of racial harmony that we strive for to bring peace and prosperity to our land. What the picture conveys is a level intimacy between two cultures / racial groups that a lot of conservatives are very uncomfortable with. Forget uncomfortable, it out right offends them.

Based on some of the right wing comments on Facebook. One of the strange beliefs that I got from a right wing Zulu and a right wing Afrikaner is they somehow think that they are a "pure" race and it is their choice to live in their little Apartheid worlds. Knowing a little about biology and human evolution (we are all from Africa originally) I find this a pretty unhealthy belief to have.

A lack of genetic diversity is unhealthy for a population. There is empirical research to show us this. If you look at the genetic disorders that are inherited by the various Jewish populations around the world it is very easy to see why a lack of genetic diversity can be unhealthy. (Link to Wikipedia article discussing the Jewish genetic disorder issue).

Its clear a lot of conservative South Africans of all races are stuck in the past. Their minds are still stuck in the years of the Immorality Act. This is to get people talking and hopefully help our conservatives friends to get their minds out the past.

South Africans of all races have to work closely with each other. Our diversity is our unity. This is our future, and we need to get beyond our superficial hangups.

I would like to congratulate DASO and the DAYL on this 'Benetton like' campaign. It has people talking.

As promised, below is the DASO picture, followed by some of the meme's I have found.

The original poster

The meme's

If you find any more, let me know so I can list them.

Why TopTV in South Africa might be losing Current TV

2012-01-13T19:58:00.001+02:00

I am a subscriber to TopTV and DSTV. One of the main reasons I have TopTV is it gives me access to several channels that DSTV is unable to offer. These channels are Current TV, MSNBC and Fox News (I love the entertainment factor of watching Republican propaganda).

I tend to watch across networks. I watch BBC, Sky, Al Jazeera, CNN, Russia Today and several other channels. I like to see things from all perspectives (or all offered perceptions).

Current TV is without a doubt the best channel of the lot (this includes DSTV). It is our families favourite channel. They have some of the most informative shows I have ever seen on a network and it has raised my awareness on how different people`s live in different places from around the world. Its given me a lot of perspective and introspection.

So you can imagine how gutted I was today when I read a news article on MyBroadBand.co.za that stated that TopTV will most likely be discontinuing Current TV. Ill quote a little bit of the article here:

TopTV broadcasts the British-generated feed of Current TV, which is also broadcast on the BSkyB pay-TV platform. According to BSkyB, it is considering not renewing its contract with Current TV due to factors such as low viewership and under-performance.

This is ironic, because based on the official TopTV Facebook page and the people commenting on it the channel appears very popular. Doing a search on Current TV on Twitter shows that there are a real lot of upset people in several countries that are as equally upset about Current TV getting pulled from their airwaves.

According to BSkyB the reason it is not renewing the contract is because it is not popular. According to Current TV 1 in 3 Italians who had SkyItalia regularly watched Current TV. If our own TopTV is anything to go by it is also a popular channel here in South Africa. Here are a couple of their tweets:

TopTVza TopTV

@rcgmobi we're looking into this and doing everything possible to keep this popular channel on our platform

4 hours ago

TopTVza TopTV

@Buhlebonga we're doing everything we can to keep this on air

4 hours ago

TopTVza TopTV

TopTV awaits news regarding Current TV

5 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

So in my mind, I have to ask myself. Why really is BSkyB going to stop broadcasting Current TV. Lack of popularity did not seem to be a really believable reason to me so I investigated a little deeper and then I found out the real reason why our favourite channel is being taken away from us.

The real reason that TopTV has been taken away from us is because of a personal vendetta that the far right wing billionaire Rupert Murdoch has against a the left wing liberal presenter Keith Olberman. Keith Olberman is well known for exposing the many lies and deceits of Ruport Murdoch and his right wing propaganda machine, Fox News (Often referred to as Faux News). I highly recommend you watch this documentary called "OutFoxed" to get a better perspective of Rupert Murdoch and Fox New's far right political agenda. It is very destructive.

Al Gore had the following to say about Rupert Murdoch's motives:

In an interview with the Guardian, Gore said the Current TV news and documentary channel was told unexpectedly three weeks ago that it could no longer be carried by Sky Italia because of its decision to hire a US left-leaning commentator often critical of Murdoch's company.
He added that the decision reflected how News Corporation operated worldwide. "News Corporation is an international conglomerate with an ideological agenda. It seeks political power in every nation they operate. They wield that power to shut down voices that disagree with the agenda of Rupert Murdoch," Gore said.
The decision, he added, was "a complete shock" but Current TV executives were told "off the record that the decision was taken on News Corp instructions from New York". The primary reason, he said, was "because Current is launching Keith Olbermann next month".

Rupert Murdoch does not have customers. He has hostages. Here I am, wanting to watch my favourite channel and I am held hostage to the whim of one man far right wing ideology. Well I for one refuse to be be Rupert Murdoch`s victims. I see that TopTV is trying to fight to keep the channel online, and I really hope that somehow Current TV and Top TV can keep the channel going. Money talks and consumers walk. I'm willing to pay extra for Current TV (if its available somehow on pay-per-view) and I promise to do my best to educate all my family and friends on the dangers Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation represents.

If anyone from Current TV reads this. Your channel is important please find a way to keep it going. Keep up the good work. Your media is relevant to our generation.

Denonymous

2011-09-02T12:22:00.002+02:00

For a long time I have been a supporter of the group known as Anonymous. Back in the days when people still respected Anonymous. We did all kinds of cool things like educate people about the real dangers posed by Scientology. Aaah the days of rick rolling are over and there is a new crowd. Apparently the group that "supports" Wikileaks.

I put the word "supports" in brackets because its not real support. The real support comes from chaps like myself and others who provide hosting infrastructure (legal hosting, not script kiddie hacked stuff), who assist with their time in moderating the Wikileaks forum and who donate money directly to support Julian Assange. Those are the real supporters of Wikileaks. The bread and butter people willing to invest time, money and resources, in supporting a noble cause.

At first I was amused by the antics of the nouveau Anonymous that seemed to support Wikileaks. I wont lie, when they went on their whole LOIC campaign I facepalmed a little, but some of their dDOS attacks against Visa, Mastercard and Paypal seemed pretty epic so one way or another they definitely had some skill. I didn't join or support any of these actions as I believe it akin to online violence, and I don't believe that the way to resolve any of these issues is by brute force. I believe in peaceful resistance through education and real life pacifist activism.

I noticed a change in the nature of the people "leading" Anonymous. Their tactics were less educational and sophisticated and more brute force thuggery in the form of distributed denial of service attacks.

Where anonymous used to be directed at all injustice (from Wikileaks to Scientology) it now seems to be directed at one target. The United States of America. At first I figured this was just because America was the country that had the biggest leak from Wikileaks. However as time has gone by, the nouveau Anonymous just kept hitting one target.. the USA.

I am no fan of America and its foreign policy. I am a South African. My country has been hurt by the cold war penis show-down between the old Soviet Russia and the USA. They fought their wars by proxy in our back gardens because they were both too cowardly to face each other directly. My country is still picking up the pieces from the cold war and still footing the bill.

Anyways, back to the moment where I decided to stop supporting Anonymous. Anonymous now appears to be strongly influenced by propaganda from the Far East. People with a political agenda and that agenda is no longer dealing with the injustices of the world. That agenda is to hate America and attack anything American.

Hardly any other targets...just America or American interests. That's so lame. We all understand that America is not perfect and has performed some terrible acts in the past (kinda like all countries). My country is testament to that. However, what we do know is that IN CONTEXT, America is the lesser of the evils when looking around at other super powers.

Take Russia and China for example. They are an oppressed people unable to have healthy democracies. They both still have political prisoner camps of epic proportions and they both have human rights records that make the American transgressions look like a Sunday picnic.

I have friends in China and Russia and I know a lot about the abuse of human rights there. People are being denied access to all information that is in the public domain. Being old school I still believe in the Hacker Manifesto. You know, the part about freedom and access to information. Coming from a country that only recently became a real democracy, I know how all important information and communication is if a democracy is to survive.

I have legal proxy servers all over the world, through these servers I provide Chinese Pro-Democracy supporters SSH tunnels out to the real world so they can have free access to all the information they need to help grow democracy in China. For democratic supporters in China this is a real and clear danger to them.

After a couple of months of Anonymous just doing random America-bashing I decided to have my say. I couldn't understand why Anonymous was being so petty about America. Surely there is some real talent in Anonymous? Someone who can get into the information systems of real tyrannical nations? Imagine if prison or military information was leaked from China. Imagine if Russia`s FSB had its records put out for public inspection. Imagine the massive change in the world that would bring around.

That stuff is real, its happening right now, and it makes everything America does look as if it was done by an Alter Boy. So I decided to message one of the more vocal supporters of Anonymous. Some folk on Twitter that call themselves @Anon_Central. I asked why Anonymous were not going after bigger and more serious targets that would help more people. This is the response I got back:

@safrikaan They haven't gone to other countries and committing mass Genocides! Oh, they have but not like the US! They are raping everyone.

I facepalmed at this. Its probably the most propaganda-filled load of crap I have ever read from a serious source in my life. The person who responded to me clearly has no clue about world history or any understanding of international politics. Living in Africa I know what a real genocide is about and this "Anon_Central" basically used one sentence to water down the meaning of the word "genocide" to suite his own political, US-hating agenda. Its an incredibly insulting comment to anyone who has lost a family member to a real genocide. Does the author not know about the Russian-Polish genocides? Does the author not know about the systematic destruction of the Chinese people under Chairman Mao? Clearly not.

That was it, the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. I no longer wanted to be associated with this politicized America-hating crap (probably funded and supported by a crappy 3rd world country with even worst human rights abuses). Anonymous are no longer doing good. I am not one of those people that do not think my own poo does not stink. I would be the happiest human in the world if Anonymous had the balls to hack the systems of my country (not just dDOS them, do a real hack) and expose the corruption of my government for the world to see. South Africa really needs that and it would help improve the lives of millions of South Africans.

However there are even bigger and more important countries than my own that need to be looked at. Countries where real people live under real oppression. If Anonymous had the ability to hack into some of China`s systems it would change the world. They wont though. Its easier to to attack and blame America instead of doing the right thing or accepting responsibility.

Just across the border from me is a country called Zimbabwe. Run by a dictator (Robert Mugabe) who makes Gaddafi look like Father Christmas. I have Zimbabweans living in the bush next to my house because they can no longer live in their own country. We have millions of Zimbabweans streaming into our country to escape the torture and political persecution they experience at the hands of Mr. Mugabe’s. We have China supporting Robert Mugabe`s regime and they acquire cheap diamonds, platinum and gold in return. What does Anonymous have to say about all of this? Nothing... they're just attacking America, they're too busy to look at the bigger picture or other peoples.

I am over Anonymous and their American hating. I do not want to be a part of an organization that has lost sight of its goals and which ignores the real issues. Until Anonymous grows up or the Middle East loses its control over some of its leaders. I am not interested in being a part of such an organization that ignores the real issues to focus on lame uneducated hating.

I will continue to support Wikileaks and I will continue to educate people about the dangers of Scientology. I will continue supporting pro-democracy groups around the world and I will continue trying to expose real corruption around the world. When Anonymous is no longer a brute force, America hating , thug group, I will look at them again, but for now...

I am no longer anonymous. My name is David. I am real and I will continue my fight against real injustices everywhere. .

ClearOS FTP backup script

2011-01-30T09:21:00.001+02:00

Recently I had to find a way to do incremental backups of a ClearOS file server to a Seagate Black Armour NAS400. I was not involved in the hardware choice and this showed, because while the NAS is kinda useful... I find its lack of firmware intelligence frustrating. If anyone from Seagate ever reads this... please allow SSH and rsync by default please. The NAS seems to be more end user than server orientated.

So my limitations when coming up with a backup solution to the NAS was limited to just ye olde tar and good old ftp.

So using my Google-fu search skills I searched the Internet looking for reliable method of backing up the data in the flexishare directories. I found the best solution came with a bash shell script that automated the process for you.

For this solution you are going to need a particular type of ftp client. ncftp. By default ncftp does not come with ClearOS and for some reason its not in the ClearOS repositories either *hint hint*. (Yes, that was directed at any bored developer reading this guide.). Despite that its pretty easy to install if you know the basics of using terminal.

To install ncftp on ClearOS just these commands as root:

# rpm -Uvh http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/epel/5/i386/epel-release-5-4.noarch.rpm

#yum install ncftp

Of course versions may change over time so just be sure to keep an eye out for updated code repositories. Especially if you are reading this 2 or 3 years from the date I wrote this.

Now that we have ncftp we can create a shell script and then run it. Drop down to terminal again and using nano (or whatever editor you feel most comfatable with) and paste the following code:

http://snipt.org/wlkG

The variables in it are pretty self explanitory. Just be sure to change the IP (192.168.0.2) of of the FTP server to whatever you have allocated to your FTP NAS. This script is a slightly modified version of the script that I generated using this wonderful little online wizard: http://bash.cyberciti.biz/backup/wizard-ftp-script.php

The modification came with inserting the "passive" command into the FTP upload part of the script. Just save and run the script and you should see a full backup made and then uploaded.

Russia did not invent the first electric light bulb

2011-01-09T13:59:00.001+02:00

I know this is a strange thing to write about, but it follows a conversation I had with a Russian nationalist in of all places... Youtube comments. Anyways, the Russian author of the comments clearly has a personal and intense dislike for anything American, and an incredibly proud and nationalist take on Russia.

One of the things he claims why Russia is so great is because he beleives a Russian invented the electric lightbulb. While Russia has invented many thing they certainly did not invent the lightbulb. A Russian by the name of A. N. Lodygin did invent an electric light bulb in 1872, and he also applied for many patents including patents for incandescent lamps having molybdenum and tungsten filaments.

But, and this a big but. He did not invent the electric lightbulb. That honor goes to a British man by the name of Humphry Davy in 1802. It was another 70 years before the first Russian invented a light bulb.

This information can be confirmed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb

Message translated with Google Translate for Russian search engines:

Россия не изобрел первую электрическую лампочку
Я знаю, что это странная вещь, чтобы писать, но следует разговор с русским националистом в всех местах ... Youtube комментарии. В любом случае, Россиюавтор комментариев очевидно, имеет личные и интенсивные неприязнь камериканской ничего, и невероятно горд и националистических взять на себяРоссия.
Одна из вещей, он утверждает, почему Россия так велика, потому что он считаетРоссию изобрел электрическую лампочку. Хотя в России и изобрел много, что они, конечно, не изобретать лампочку. Русские по имени Лодыгин придумалиэлектрическую лампочку в 1872 году, и он также применяется для многихпатентов, включая патенты на лампы накаливания, имеющих молибдена и вольфрама нитей.
Но, и это большое но. Он не изобрел электрический лампочка. Эта честь идет вбританской человек по имени Хэмфри Дэви в 1802 году. Это было еще 70 лет допервой русской изобрел лампочку.
Эта информация может быть подтверждена здесь: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F

Russia Today digs O Reilly and Fox (Faux) News

2011-01-06T15:18:00.000+02:00

Even Russia Today has more credibility than Fox News and thats saying something as Russia Today is a Putin controlled mouth piece.

Which way is she turning?

2011-01-05T20:44:00.000+02:00

What do you see in the picture below? Is the lady turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

If you see this lady turning clockwise you are using your right brain. If you see her turning anti-clockwise, you are using your left brain. Some people can see her turning both ways, but most people see her only one way.

Hoo let the dogs out

2011-01-04T23:12:00.000+02:00

A response to xenophobic writer Sentletse Diakanyo

2011-01-04T23:03:00.000+02:00

This is a response to the writer of an opinion piece on Thoughtleader who goes by the name of Senteletse Diakanyo (a South African).

The original article can be found here at ThoughtLeader: http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/sentletsediakanyo/2010/12/28/we-are-not-all-africans-black-people-are/

Basically its a pretty racist opinion about how only black people can be called Africans. He excludes Egyptians from being called African by his narrow definition.

My first thought to Sentletse Diakanyo was a swear word starting with the letter F and ending off with you. Offsides and completely wrong dude. I am pretty sure if people in Egypt read this article they would be saying the same to you.

The author of this article does not know that “African” is a regional title, not a skin color. Is he saying you cant have black Europeans or black Americans? Is he blind? Imagine if the word “Australian” meant “not the skin color of an Aborigine”.

Its pretty clear the author of this article lacks an education and/or world experience.

He should visit some Asians in Russia (Russia is an Asian country), some Europeans in Turkey (Is part of the EU) and some Americans from Mexico (Mexico is part of the America`s). Only then will he realize how wrong and small minded his article is.

Perhaps one day when the author stops looking at everyone through such racist goggles he will understand Ubuntu.

We all share a common ancestor Mr Author. We all come from Africa. Some of us where never able to leave it and some of us have come back home. Stop being so racist and xenophobic.

Senteletse Diakanyo reminds me of the NATS from Apartheid or the occasionaly racist around the braai. They are trying to be just as separatist as him. Theyre different sides of the same coin.

Senteletse Diakanyo takes several steps towards genocide mentalist. Have a look at this Wikipedia article of Genocide and look in which direction his words start taking us: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide#Stages_of_genocide_and_efforts_to_prevent_it

Getting informed on Scientology

2011-01-03T10:43:00.000+02:00

This is a pretty important post with some pretty important information so I really hope you take the time to view the videos I have selected for you. For decades now Scientology has being breaking up families and destroying peoples lives. Below are several credible investigative reports into the cult of Scientology. This is high quality informative investigative journalism so its content does have credibility.

CNN`s Anderson Cooper on Scientology:

This is a 5 part series. The Youtube videos include a lot of backstories and follow ups and posting 15 Youtube videos here would just clutter the site. So to save clutter follow this link: http://www.xenutv.com/blog/?p=4917 . Mark Bunker over at XenuTV has them wonderfully organized.

BBC`s John Sweeney on Scientology:

John Sweeny has actually done two documentries on Scientology. The first one is Panorma, Scientology and Me.

This is part one of four, you can follow the rest of the show at YouTube.

This is John's follow up BBC documentary called, "The secrets of Scientology":

This is part one of four, you can follow the rest of the show at YouTube.

A lot of fail and a lot of pain

2011-01-03T10:20:00.000+02:00

An increbile list of Darwin candidates in this movie. Natural Selection is a cruel mistress.

Conservative Fox (Faux) News reported gets trumped by Dan Barker

2011-01-02T18:12:00.000+02:00

In this Youtube clip you see rationalist and atheist Dan Barker co-president or the Freedom of Religion Foundation and author of "Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists," ; take on a conservative reporter at Fox News. Dan Barker pretty much owns the journalist. Definitely a good watch.

Conservatives are genetically wired to be fearful and to lack courage

2011-01-02T10:23:00.000+02:00

Political opinions are considered choices, and in Western democracies the right to choose one's opinions -- freedom of conscience -- is considered sacrosanct.

But recent studies suggest that our brains and genes may be a major determining factor in the views we hold.

A study at University College London in the UK has found that conservatives' brains have larger amygdalas than the brains of liberals. Amygdalas are responsible for fear and other "primitive" emotions. At the same time, conservatives' brains were also found to have a smaller anterior cingulate -- the part of the brain responsible for courage and optimism.

Also in a study published in October, researchers at Harvard and UC-San Diego found that a variant of the DRD4 gene predisposes people to being liberal, but only if they had active social lives as adolescents. The "liberal gene" has also been linked to a desire to try new things, and other "personality traits related to political liberalism."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/uoc--rfa102710.php

More linkage: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/brain-thickness-determines-political-leaning-study-20101229-199hk.html

More China crackdowns

2010-12-30T19:55:00.000+02:00

Its pretty sad when I see one of my favorite people, the Chinese, being so abused by their government. They are such a great people (the average Chinese person, not the Communist Party) and they are capable of so much. They just need to sort out their government. The government serves the people, the people do not serve the government.

China cracks down on P2P telephonic services like Skype and declared them illegal. This is done under the pretense that only government regulated telecoms may offer telephone calls, but its really because P2P telephonic services take the control out of the Communist Partys control and into the hands of the citizen.

Skype joins a long list of famous online applications like Facebook to be banned by the corrupt Chinese government.

Revenge against Mormons

2010-12-30T19:45:00.000+02:00

This video is pretty funny. Ever had a Mormon or a Jehovah`s Witness come knocking on your door? In the second part of this video a group of atheists decide to give the Mormons a dose of their own medicine.

Dishonest political companies you should avoid

2010-12-19T12:26:00.000+02:00

Below is my current list of companies that the CIA can use to manipulate you with their political agenda`s. These companies are not to be trusted and are involved in dirty politics:

All these companies are strongly against free speech and are intent on keeping the current dishonest polictical/financial status quo. These companies will go after Wikileaks for being honest but happily still take money from dictators around the world.

I will expand on this list as more companies throw their integrity away.

Zapiro`s look at China`s new "Peace" Prize

2010-12-13T12:57:00.000+02:00

I thought todays cartoon about China`s new "Confucius Peace Prize" ( a cheap insubstantial knock off of the original Nobel Peace Prize)

Click on the image above to view in full size and at the original host.

Wikileaks now has a South African mirror

2010-12-10T10:45:00.000+02:00

Yeah its official. South Africa now has an official Wikileaks mirror. This can be accessed by the address http://www.wikileaks.za.org .

The site is currently hosted on multiple servers with hosting in the United States, South Africa, Sweden as well as two off the grid solutions. It will basically be impossible to take down the South African copy of the site for any extended length of the time.

The server and site is currently hardened against anticipated attacks from American secret services. A special thanks to the guys and girls at http://www.mybroadband.co.za for help in motiviation and support for getting wikileaks.za.org up. Please note that MyBroadband in no way endorses wikileaks.za.org and this is a private project by individual MyBB members.

We also recommend a special form of protest for those fighting against wikileaks and free speech. For the big detractors we are offering them white feathers.

Wikileaks is most likely the most important tool for Free Speech since the inception of the Freedom of Information act.

Reproductive scientists create mice from 2 fathers

2010-12-09T09:30:00.000+02:00

This is a reproduction of the original article. Original article link can be found at the end of this post.

The study was posted today (Wednesday, December 8) at the online site of the journal Biology of Reproduction.

The achievement of two-father offspring in a species of mammal could be a step toward preserving endangered species, improving livestock breeds, and advancing human assisted reproductive technology (ART). It also opens the provocative possibility of same-sex couples having their own genetic children, the researchers note.

In the work reported today, the Behringer team manipulated fibroblasts from a male (XY) mouse fetus to produce an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line. About one percent of iPS cell colonies grown from this XY cell line spontaneously lost the Y chromosome, resulting in XO cells. The XO iPS cells were injected into blastocysts from donor female mice. The treated blastocysts were transplanted into surrogate mothers, which gave birth to female XO/XX chimeras having one X chromosome from the original male mouse fibroblast.

The female chimeras, carrying oocytes derived from the XO cells, were mated with normal male mice. Some of the offspring were male and female mice that had genetic contributions from two fathers.

According to the authors, "Our study exploits iPS cell technologies to combine the alleles from two males to generate male and female progeny, i.e. a new form of mammalian reproduction."

The technique described in this study could be applied to agriculturally important animal species to combine desirable genetic traits from two males without having to outcross to females with diverse traits.

"It is also possible that one male could produce both oocytes and sperm for self-fertilization to generate male and female progeny," the scientists point out. Such a technique could be valuable for preserving species when no females remain.

In the future, it may also be possible to generate human oocytes from male iPS cells in vitro. Used in conjunction with in vitro fertilization, this would eliminate the need for female XO/XX chimeras, although a surrogate mother would still be needed to carry the two-father pregnancy to term.

Using a variation of the iPS technique, the researchers say "it may also be possible to generate sperm from a female donor and produce viable male and female progeny with two mothers."

The authors also caution that the "generation of human iPS cells still requires significant refinements prior to their use for therapeutic purposes."

Provided by Society for the Study of Reproduction

Original link : http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-reproductive-scientists-mice-fathers.html

China - A sad nation of knockoffs

2010-12-09T08:08:00.001+02:00

\Well one thing that can be said about China is that in the last 1000 years they have being incapable of original thought. Basically everything they have today was imported from the west or knocked off from the west. Their latest knock-off is the Nobel Peace Prize, which they are calling the Confucius Peace Prize.

This knock off is pretty ironic as its the moral equivalent of a back street whore offering out awards for virginity.

The Confucius Peace Prize will of course include other countries with crappy human rights records and abuse like Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco.

Well those crappy countries just admitted they are have sold out to China and are going to get crappier. Thats basically what happens to anyone who sleeps with China.

Its a pity the Chinese government are throwing such a childish temper tantrum in their attempt to rubbish the name of the Nobel Prize. Just goes to show you that Chinese rulers lack in their humanity and are nothing but rich despots of an enslaved nation.

Everydns.net cowardly drops Wikileaks.org domain

2010-12-03T12:29:00.000+02:00

In a downright cowardly and disgusting move, the DNS host; Everydns.net has dropped the wikileaks.org domain. Everydns.net is an American owned DNS host. I have several domains hosted with Everydns.net and I will no longer be hosting my DNS with them.

To Everydns.net. You skunk like cowards! No longer can Internet users trust Everydns.net to have any type of character or honor. They are just another pawn in American manipulation.

What does this mean to all of us? It means that if you host at EveryDNS.net, and you do anything remotely that they do not approve of politically, you will have your DNS and domain dropped by them.

One thing this wikileaks saga is doing is separating the cowards from the real men who want to do good. Wikileaks is probably the single most important tool to journalism outside of Access to Information Acts world wide.

For an official spin on this story you can read more at Times Union.

Scientologists own Kayalami Castle

2010-12-03T10:52:00.000+02:00

Its pretty disturbing to hear that this landmark in Kayalami Johannesburg is now owned by the cult of Scientology. This sick and evil religious group have taken control of one of our local landmarks. You can be assured that this landmark (Kayalami Castle) will be used to fleece South Africans of their hard earned cash (all that cash will be sent back to the USA), and that the location will be used to abuse and hold people against their will.

I came across this terrible news while watching XenuTV. XenuTV shows personal attacks by Scientology against Anderson Cooper for his in depth hard hitting reporting.

Here is the VERY dishonest propaganda piece done by the Cult of Scientology that attacks Anderson Cooper and that mentions their conquest of Kayalami Castle in Johannesburg (Johannesburg is mentioned around 5:25 seconds into this shrill piece).

We like to think as South Africans that we are excluded from this type of stupidity but when I watch a propaganda piece like this it reminds me that South Africans are just as much at risk of being abused by Scientology as anyone else.

Cocaine... so much cocaine!

2010-12-03T10:04:00.002+02:00

To err is human... to aar is..

2010-12-03T09:44:00.002+02:00

The exact date of the end of the world

2010-12-03T09:21:00.000+02:00

According to Jehovah`s Witness`s. I once dated a JW and it was a pretty interesting experience. A normal conversation would go something like this:

Me, "So what do you think on kids and marriage"
JW, "Oh no, I wont have kids, do you know how evil it would be to bring them up in a world that is about to be destroyed?"
Me, "wtf?"
JW, "Yeah the world is about to end so I cant get married or have children"
Me, "wtf!"

Anyways, one thing about Jehovah`s Witness`s is they are constant in their predictions about the end of the world. Constantly wrong. Every single generation has believed it to be the last generation.

Dates we are or where meant to die

70 AD: the fall and desecration of Jerusalem ended the world, according to the Preterists. Whoops.
500: Hippolytus of Rime worked out the Biblical ’6,000 year rule’ to apply to this year. For more fun with that same figure, keep reading.
989: Halley’s Comet always brings impending doom. Just ask Mark Twain.
1000: very little of an apocalyptic nature happened this year, aside from a bunch of Christians getting worked up about the rather flexible millennium date.
1874: the Jehovah’s Witnesses begin a long and lucrative career of predicting Armageddon, starting with this year. BTW: it didn’t happen.
1878: It didn’t happen this year, either.
1881: no, really…the JW’s were on a roll.
1910: again? Well, if you Witnesses say so.
1914: people are probably starting to wonder about Jehovah’s Witnesses.
1918: we like the four-year cycle, but could the Jehovah’s Witnesses maybe split it up into a summer apocalypse and a winter apocalypse?
1925: about this time, people may be forgiven for hoping that the world ends just to shut the Jehovah’s Witnesses up about it.
1975: they gave us a 50-year break (which included WWII, which was chock full of apocalyptic signs) but those scrappy Jehovah’s Witnesses aren’t done yet.
1982: “The Christ is Now Here”, according to the Tara Center, who later state that He’s not ready to reveal himself after all.
1984: Orwell buffs and Jehovah’s Witnesses alike considered this to be a significant year. Unless Van Halen is the antichrist (not unproven), they were probably all wrong.
1994: Nostradamus tries posthumously to beat the Jehovah’s Witnesses record for most failed predictions. Luckily, he’s much more vague and obscure, so he’s never really wrong…
1997: No, really, the Christ is Now Here, according to Share International (a.k.a. the Tara Center). Interestingly enough, The Christ (a.k.a. Maitreya) tops the list of several groups who believe him to be the Antichrist instead. Either way is okay with us — we still get apocalypse!
1998: This is the year, says Nostradamus and others (and maybe not even him). For example, Eli Eshoh proved that the Rapture was going to happen, and by golly, it did (didn’t you notice?). We’re still not sure who were raptured, but those of us Left Behind should watch out for 2028. Two ends of the world for the price of one? Good deal!
2000: the change of the millennium makes a great date for the End Times. However, even the Y2K Bug turned out to be little more than a minor inconvenience, even for online slots.
2003: Ah, those wacky Zetas. They seemed so sure, and now Nancy and the rest of the earthworm-eaters simply claim that the Pole Shift of May 15th, 2003 was some sort of smokescreen or conspiracy, and the real day is still coming. But they won’t say when.
2008 2009 2010 2011: The Lord’s Witnesses (absolutely NOT Jehovah’s Witnesses, despite strikingly obvious similarities) are pretty sure that it’s all over one of these years. Well, as long as there’s still a World War I veteran alive, we’ve got nothing to worry about…so at least a year or two. Additionally, Harold Camping of Family Radio is pretty sure it’s all over in May. Or maybe October. Either way, he’s 100% sure.
2012: a very popular choice lately (and will probably remain so, up until the end of December). The basis for this date is Mayan calendars, Nostradamus, and sunspot predictions — and possibly a savvy marketing campaign by the Cults and Survival Gear coalition.
2014: Hey, this one comes from a Pope, so it must be true. In 1514 Leo IX gave us 500 years. You’d think that would be long enough to get our act together, but noooooooo…
2017: and then there’s the “Sword of God Brotherhood” (great name) who will be the only ones surviving this year, tasked with repopulating the planet. Hopefully there’s a Sisterhood as well. Or not…
2028: Eli Eshoe again. Anybody left after the great Rapture of 2008 (remember that?) and the ensuing tribulation (i.e., now) has until 2028 to prove themselves. Get to work.
2240: the Talmud says that the world as we know it will only last 6,000 years, starting with the creation of Adam (which apparently happened about 5770 years ago…sorry, Lucy). The Talmud is pretty discouraging about how much fun our final two centuries are going to be, but the world after Armageddon should be very nice.
2280: the Qur’an gives us 40 more years than the Talmud, according to Dr. Rashad Khalifa and a computer-assisted numerical analysis of the holy text.
2743: if online casino usa is still around, there’s plenty of reason to hope.
3797: this one comes from Nostradamus, but so have quite a few other dates (past and future). Just in case this was the year that he really meant, clear your schedule.

Goats in a tree

2010-12-03T08:47:00.000+02:00

This picture was taken in Morocco by Gavin Oliver. These goats are well known by the local to climb the Argon tree to eat its fruit.

Are Aliens Among Us? Sort of, NASA Says

2010-12-03T08:21:00.000+02:00

This discovery by NASA is pretty interesting. In a nutshell most known life has two things in common. Carbon and phosphorus. What NASA have found is a life form that is made of arsnic. These newly discovered lifeforms have their DNA chains held together by arsenic!

This is pretty big because this means they could be from a totally different biosphere to us. Lets see what Fox News has to say about this (apologies for using such a dishonest source as Fox News, but it was the best link avaliable at the time.)

Alien life has been among us all along, according to new biological findings announced by NASA Thursday.

Research conducted by biochemist Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon from the U.S. Geological Survey has turned the quest for alien life on its ear, suggesting that phosphorous, carbon, and the other fundamental elements found in every living thing on Earth aren't the only signs of life. Wolfe-Simon explained the findings at a hotly anticipated NASA press conference on Thursday.

After a two-year study at California's Mono Lake, near Yosemite National Park, Wolfe-Simon found that a bug will grow in the presence of the toxic chemical arsenic when only slight traces of phosphorous are present. It's a radical finding, says molecular biologist Steven Benner, who is part of NASA's "Team Titan" and an expert on astrobiology -- forcing the space agency to redefine the quest for other life in the universe.

Sauce

Fantastic lightning photography

2010-12-02T17:51:00.000+02:00

Click on the image to enlarge

From the photographers website;

This is a photo sequence of 42 stacked shots, caught in Olympic Stadium, Athens during a severe thunderstorm. It only took me aproximatelly 30 minutes to capture 51 lightnings.

Nine shots were destroyed because of the excess brightness. See also the waterdrops from the drain pipe. They seem 'still' as they instlantly illuminated from the lightnings.

The answer to the crucial question: No... The big one didn't hit me on the head! It stroke a few hundred feet in front of me..

Canon EOS 550D, 28/6/2010 1:16 - 1:48, Shutter Speed 3.2 sec x 42 shots, Aperture Value 4.0, ISO 100, Lens Canon EF 15mm f/2.8, Focal Length 15.0 mm

Original link.

And The Winner of the 2010 Bad Sex in Fiction Award Goes To...

2010-12-02T14:44:00.000+02:00

...The Shape of Her by Rowan Somerville. Here's an excerpt:

He caught her rhythm, pulling and releasing, cradling and crushing; pushing up through his fingers with each swing, mining up, like an otter through wet sand. Her sounds shifted from moans to grunts, insistent, almost desperate cries from the throat … He unbuttoned the front of her shirt and pulled it to the side so that her breast was uncovered, her nipple poking out, upturned like the nose of the loveliest nocturnal animal, sniffing in the night. He took it between his lips and sucked the salt from her. He hooked his fingers into her waistband, caught the elastic of her underwear and began pulling down. The knot on her light cotton trousers held fast as the fabric reached the curve of her backside. She twisted from him and stepped back.

Read more terribly bad sex from The Shape of Her at the Guardians website, or have a look at other contenders for worst sex story books.

Angry noodle

2010-12-02T14:33:00.000+02:00

Demands explanation! Thought this noodle was hilarious so definitely worth a share!

No Senior Citizens Discount

2010-12-02T14:31:00.000+02:00

Not everyone has the same feeling about pensioners and discounts.

An advantage to being color blind

2010-12-02T14:17:00.000+02:00

Worlds scariest airstrips

2010-12-02T13:55:00.000+02:00

Ever wondered what it would be like landing on some of the... shorter runways around the world? Here are a couple of runways I dont think I would be too happy landing on.

Mercury poisoning makes male birds homosexual

2010-12-02T13:15:00.000+02:00

This is an interesting story for a Thursday. Apparently mercury poisoning makes male ibis homosexual. For those of you not ornithologically inclined; an ibis is the same type of family that our beloved (annoying) Hadeda`s belong to.

Low levels of mercury in the diet of male white ibises cause the birds to mate with each other rather than with females. As a result many of the females can't breed, and fewer chicks are produced.

It's the first time a pollutant has been found to change an animal's sexual preference. Many chemicals can "feminise" males or reduce fertility, but males affected in these ways still prefer females.

Mercury is extremely toxic, particularly in the form of methylmercury, which reduces breeding in wild birds by disrupting their parenting behaviours. To find out if it also affected mating, Peter Frederick of the University of Florida in Gainesville and Nilmini Jayasena of the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, captured 160 young white ibises from south Florida. They gave them food laced with methylmercury and monitored them closely.

The birds were split into four groups. One group ate food with 0.3 parts per million methylmercury, which most US states would regard as too high for human consumption. A second group got 0.1 ppm, and the third 0.05 ppm, a low dose that wild birds would be exposed to frequently. The fourth group received none.

All three dosed groups had significantly more homosexual males than the control group. Male-male pairs courted, built nests together and paired off for several weeks. Higher doses increased the effect, with 55 per cent of males in the 0.3 ppm group affected. Male-male matings were responsible for 81 per cent of unproductive nests in the dosed groups.

Meanwhile the heterosexual pairs courted less and were bad at parenting – patterns of behaviour that were both already known to be caused by methylmercury poisoning. The combined effects of male-male pairing and poor performance by male-female pairs could be severe. "In the worst-case scenario, the production of young would fall by 50 per cent," says Frederick.

Looking for effects on courtship and mating is novel, says Tony Scheuhammer of Environment Canada's National Wildlife Research Center in Ottawa, Ontario. "People normally study pairs that have already mated to see how good they are at parenting," he says.

The source of the full article can be found at the fantastic New Scientist website.

A look at Russia in color from 1900 to 1915

2010-12-02T13:05:00.000+02:00

My last blog post that had pictures of America in color from the early part of the 20th century went down pretty well so I thought I would share pictures I found from the same source of Russia in color right at the beginning of the 20th century.

It is a pity that communism effected Russia on such a drastic scale as it looked like they were well on their way by some of the beautiful buildings shown. One is also reminded of the strong contrast between early developed Russia and early rural Russia.

There are loads more pictures where these came from all of them available online from the Denver Post.

What does John Stewart have to say about Wikileaks?

2010-12-01T15:40:00.000+02:00

For some reason our South African conservatives are as thick and uneducated as their American counterparts and in the local MyBroadBand forums our local conservatives are behaving like idiotic Republicans.

They are acting as though the diplomatic cable release is the end of the political world and everyone is going to die and this leak is bad for everyone.

Rubbish! I say. The more transparent and accountable governments and corporations are the less corruption and human misery there will be. John Stewart pretty much echoes my sentiment but in a much more humorous way. Have a look at this clip from his latest show!

Buy your own Tron motorbike - Really cool!

2010-12-01T11:31:00.000+02:00

For those of you that are not in the know. There is a new Tron movie coming out called Tron: Legacy. A Florida motorbike shop have developed 10 custom-built, street legal Tron Light Cycle lookalikes. For only $55 000 you to can purchase one of these elite bikes.

Read more about these fantastic bikes at Wired Magazine.

Twilight for Bernice

2010-12-01T09:59:00.000+02:00

My best friends wife is a bit fanatical about her enjoyment of the Twilight series so I thought I would share this short summary of the series for her :D

Why do Republicans keep voting against their own best interests?

2010-11-30T17:33:00.000+02:00

America`s new radio-controlled smart bullets

2010-11-30T12:05:00.003+02:00

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A new type of weapon is on the battlefield and it is hailed as a game changer.

The DailyMail has an interesting article about a new weapons technology the Americans are deploying on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

The U.S. army is to begin using a futuristic rifle that fires radio-controlled 'smart' bullets in Afghanistan for the first time, it has emerged.

The XM25 rifle uses bullets that be programmed to explode when they have travelled a set distance, allowing enemies to be targeted no matter where they are hiding.

The rifle also has a range of 2,300 feet making it possible to hit target which are well out of the reach of conventional rifles.

The XM25 is being developed specially for the U.S. army and will be deployed with troops from later this month, it was revealed today.

The rifle's gunsight uses a laser rangefinder to determine the exact distance to the obstruction, after which the soldier can add or subtract up to 3 metres from that distance to enable the bullets to clear the barrier and explode above or beside the target.

Soldiers will be able to use them to target snipers hidden in trenches rather than calling in air strikes.

The 25-millimetre round contains a chip that receives a radio signal from the gunsight as to the precise distance to the target.

Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, project manager for the system, described the weapon as a ‘game-changer’ that other nations will try and copy.

Read more about this amazing weapon at the DailyMail website.

Inflatable Packet Monster Art

2010-11-30T11:44:00.000+02:00

Great street art by Joshua Allen Harris. He makes air packet monsters from trash and refuse bags and turns them into amazing works of art.

Largest man made lake in the world

2010-11-29T13:09:00.001+02:00

What is the largest man made lake in the world? Well it seems this question needs some clarity and more Google love. When you search for the largest man made lake in the world you seem to get a lot of different answers.

I have seen a variety of answers but very few of them seem right. So using the powers of interstellar divination and um Google I can with some authority state that the biggest man made lake in the world is Lake Kariba on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

To quote Wikipedia:

By volume, Lake Kariba is the largest artificial lake and reservoir in the world. It is located on the Zambezi river, about halfway between the river's source and mouth, about 1300 kilometers upstream from the Indian Ocean, and lies along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963 following the completion of the Kariba Dam at its northeastern end, flooding the Kariba Gorge on the Zambezi River.

Sauce: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Kariba

Obviously when you are working out the biggest you would use volume. However if you were perhaps judging the largest not by volume but by surface area then Lake Volta in Ghana comes first. Some quick figures for you.

List of lakes/reservoirs by volume

1. Lake Kariba (180 km3 or 43 cu mi; Zimbabwe, Zambia)
2. Bratsk Reservoir (169 km3 or 41 cu mi; Russia)
3. Lake Nasser (157 km3 or 38 cu mi; Egypt, Sudan)
4. Lake Volta (148 km3 or 36 cu mi; Ghana)
5. Manicouagan Reservoir (142 km3 or 34 cu mi; Canada)
6. Lake Guri (135 km3 or 32 cu mi; Venezuela)
7. Williston Lake (74 km3 or 18 cu mi; Canada)
8. Krasnoyarsk Reservoir (73 km3 or 18 cu mi; Russia)
9. Zeya Reservoir (68 km3 or 16 cu mi; Russia)

The following are the world's ten largest lakes/reservoirs by surface area:

1. Lake Volta (8,482 km2 or 3,275 sq mi; Ghana)
2. Smallwood Reservoir (6,527 km2 or 2,520 sq mi; Canada)
3. Kuybyshev Reservoir (6,450 km2 or 2,490 sq mi; Russia)
4. Lake Kariba (5,580 km2 or 2,150 sq mi; Zimbabwe, Zambia)
5. Bukhtarma Reservoir (5,490 km2 or 2,120 sq mi; Kazakhstan)
6. Bratsk Reservoir (5,426 km2 or 2,095 sq mi; Russia)
7. Lake Nasser (5,248 km2 or 2,026 sq mi; Egypt, Sudan)
8. Rybinsk Reservoir (4,580 km2 or 1,770 sq mi; Russia)
9. Caniapiscau Reservoir (4,318 km2 or 1,667 sq mi; Canada)
10. Lake Guri (4,250 km2 or 1,640 sq mi; Venezuela)

Hope you found this information useful!

8 Year old Angelo 'lil demon' shows the older boys how to dance

2010-11-28T16:02:00.000+02:00

Angelo 'Lil Demon' Baligad is only 8 years old, but he's already pitting his incredible break dancing skills against much more experienced. Below is the video from Bboy City Hawaii, of Lil Demon dancing off against Joshua Lee 'Milky' Ayers, a great dancer himself.

Brad Pitt on Religion

2010-11-28T11:16:00.001+02:00

Ever what some famous stars and actors have to say about religion? Have a look at this Bill Mahr interview with Brad Pitt. It is great to see he is a rationalist.

Main difference between Liberals and Conservatives

2010-11-27T20:57:00.001+02:00

Online Alarm Clock

2010-11-27T20:42:00.000+02:00

Ever needed an alarm clock when you where out and about and did not have one handy? Do not worry any more. The Swiss have come up with a solution for you. Check out the KuKu Klok if you ever need an online alarm clock.

Even pigs are cute

2010-11-27T20:32:00.001+02:00

Religious do not have monopoly on virtue, Queen tells synod

2010-11-27T20:19:00.000+02:00

The Guardian has an interesting article on the Queen and her perspective on Atheism, Theism and morality.

People of faith do not have a monopoly on virtue as British society was now "more diverse and secular", the Queen told the Church of England today in an address to its governing body.

Speaking at Church House, central London, she told members of General Synod that believers and atheists were equally able to contribute to the prosperity and wellbeing of the country.

The Queen, who is supreme governor of the Church of England, said: "In our more diverse and secular society, the place of religion has come to be a matter of lively discussion. It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue and that the wellbeing and prosperity of the nation depend on the contribution of individuals and groups of all faiths and none."

Pretty interesting words coming from the Queen of England who is technically head of the Church of England. More information and background can be read up at the Guardian.

If Jesus was a Republican

2010-11-27T19:58:00.000+02:00

What would Jesus be like if he was a Republican?

A look at America in Color from 1939-1943

2010-11-27T19:39:00.001+02:00

The Denver Post has some amazing color pictures of America from 1939-1943. Definitly a link worth sharing to get perspective for years gone by.

View the full color catalog at Denverpost.com.

Most realistic CGI graphics ever?

2010-11-26T10:24:00.000+02:00

Came across this little gem today. Its getting harder and harder to tell what is real and what is not real with CGI rendered graphics. I thought this video highlights the great strides forward that we have achieved in CGI development.

CellC and gaming

2010-11-12T14:29:00.000+02:00

I work at and run a decent sized ISP when I am not gaming, and one of the perks of running an Internet Service Provider is I get to test a lot of the latest Internet connections. So it was with some excitement and interest that I opened my CellC package that I received from Internet Solutions.

The first thing I did was connect the mobile internet modem to my PC and head over to speedtest.net. Below are the results I got:

The most interesting stat from this is the upload speed. 2.95Mb/s! Thats a hellava lot faster than anything in Telkom`s ADSL world. Telkom intentionally nerf their upload speeds so you can not run services on your Internet connection. Cheap bastards.

Anyways, I tested the latency on two games. The first and most important was obviously World of Warcraft. Latency in game was pretty good. On a normal Telkom semi-shaped account you would get around 800ms lag to Blizzard`s EU server. With the CellC Huawei 4G modem I got a latency of around 500ms.

Screenshot: http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1043/vanilacellc.jpg

The next game I tested the latency on was the DOTA clone known as Heroes of Newerth... or HON. I generally only play with South Africans so that none of our team has excess latency, and the in-game latency I was getting was 131ms. The gaming experience with CellC`s connection was decent.

My conclusion of my experience with CellC and gaming, is that all in all its an above average service at the moment. Its not the best, I still feel that 10mbs unshaped service is a better product but this product range from CellC is far more affordable and allows you mobile connectivity.

My favorite World of Warcraft Music Videos

2010-11-12T13:43:00.002+02:00

This is basically a collection of the best World of Warcraft videos that I enjoy (and that I have found). If there is anything I have missed please feel free to let me know and if they rock, I will add them here.

So lets start with what I feel is top of the list.

1 - Ulduar: Cranius

Fantastic clip uploaded by Cranius. The song is parody of Justin Timberlake`s - I'm bringing sexy back. The production quality, lyrics and in-game acting is fantastic! The video is almost enough for me to take my gnome mage across to Horde, as they look like they have so much fun! Almost enough - as currently nothing can compete with the satisfaction and delight I have whenever my gnome frost mage eats a Tauren for breakfast.

2 - Jace Hall - I Play W.O.W

The best original work out of all the WOW video`s I was viewing. Big up to Jace Hall for this great work. After showing this around the office several colleagues of mine instantly showed an interest in getting involved in World of Warcraft. You cant help but singing the lyrics out loud after hearing this song.

3 - Don't Make Me Get My Main: Cranius

Another great track from Cranius. I like this song because it reminds me so much of the hours I spent in GanklethornVale (Stranglethorn Vale). For those of you that do not know I play a frost mage as my main. Its a gnome frost mage and the gnomes doing the chorus in this music video had me laughing with tears in my eyes. Well done Cranius, another great work!

4 - The Internet is for Porn

One of the older videos I have come across. While the track is taken from another album it was the first time I saw a music video made using in-game WOW acting. A golden oldie but loads of fun still. Again Horde seems to have all the fun with the music videos.

Whats up Alliance? Why you all so boring! Lets get some class video`s out there so we can show Horde what quality is.

5 - The Guild - Do You Wanna Date My Avatar

This is a late update, but I thought it deserved a spot on this blog post.

There was a 6th movie I wanted to put here, but due to the limitations imposed by College Humour.com they do not allow me to embed their video in my blog, but you can go to their site to watch their music video.

Who's gonna run this raid tonight

Officer Bubbles - The worlds lamest cop

2010-10-27T12:18:00.003+02:00

If you want to see a cop abusing his power and behaving like a raving homosexual queen, check out this YouTube video of the worlds lamest cop.

UPDATE:

"'Officer Bubbles' — the Toronto Police Constable who was videotaped threatening a G20 protester with arrest for assault over the crime of blowing bubbles at a police officer has had enough of mocking videos and comments on YouTube. He has decided to sue everyone involved (commenters included) for more than a million dollars each. The complaint is detailed in his statement of claim — most of the comments seem fairly tame by internet standards; if this goes anywhere, everyone is going to have to watch what they say pretty carefully. The lawsuit appears to have been successful in intimidating the author of the mocking cartoons into taking them down."

I honestly believe Officer Bubbles or Adam Josephs (his real name) should be a candidate for a Darwin Award. Dude... you suck. I used to respect Canadian authority until I saw how they randomly arrest peaceful protesters. That is offsides and reminds me too much of my home Africa.

Links:
Officer Bubbles aka Adam Josephs legal claim: http://goo.gl/ADFN
Original Slashdot article: http://goo.gl/eobt (with video)

Why not to use Outsurance

2010-10-27T12:02:00.001+02:00

An article by NoseWeek on why NOT to use Outsurance: http://www.scribd.com/doc/40223606/Outsurance-1

MWEB - Hacked and lying

2010-10-25T15:58:00.001+02:00

So there I was, enjoying my Monday at work (okay, so I was not enjoying it that much... I was more sliding into the week as slowly as possible) when all of a sudden an interesting thread pops up in South Africa`s most popular online forum, MyBroadBand.co.za):

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/278603-Mweb-business-accounts-hacked?highlight=

The thread was about a major hack that happened to one of our largest ISP (Internet Service Providers) MWEB. The hack was posted on the security website Seclists.org which is part of Insecure.org. Both are security based websites.

Now there have being a couple of hacks lately so I was not at all surprised about this one. Sure it was a big hack but the data contained in it was not too sensitive. What caught my attention on this was in the different ways the big corporations that got hacked went about handling this.

Recently a major hosting company called Heztner was hacked in South Africa. Thousands of clients had to change tens of thousands of passwords after a major security breach at their company. The company was pretty responsible in its response. The first their clients knew of this was when Hetzner contacted their clients and informed them of the hack and what changes needed to happen. They explained how the hack happened and dealt with it maturely.

The way the Mweb hack was handled was terrible. The first Mweb Business customers heard of the hack was through the MyBroadBand thread linking back to Seclists.org. Mweb`s first reaction was to have the link removed. Then according to some MWEB users on the MyBB forums... access to Seclists.org was temporarily terminated. Shortly after that MyBroadBand released the first news article about the hack:

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/adsl/16073-MWEB-Business-ADSL-Hacked.html

Shortly after that NEWS24 (Napsters owns NEWS24 and MWEB) released a news report:

http://www.news24.com/SciTech/News/MWEB-hacked-20101025

However, this is where things go wrong. Duncan Alfreds interviews MWEB CEO Rudi Jansen about the hack and Rudi Jansen is less than honest about the hack. First off he tries deflection. In the News24 article you see him blaming Internet Solutions (one of MWEBs upstream bandwidth providers) , then the interview goes on where Rudi Jansen tries to speculate at the origin of the hacker. The hacker uses the word, "negroland" so Rudi`s assumption is that he must be American.

"These guys are linked to WikiLeaks and they just post things as they come - it's probably American."

Rudi does not stop there, he goes on to say that Seclists.org and hackers are associated with Wikileaks. This is absolutely not true. MWEB CEO Rudi Jansen lied. Its as simple as that. Seclists.org and Insecure.org are in no ways associated with Wikileaks.org. Why the lie Rudi? Why the attempt to blacken Wikileaks name at such a sensitive time?

Whats also interesting about the NEWS24 article is the downplaying of how many accounts were actually compromised. According to NEWS24 there were several accounts compromised and I quote:

"Cape Town - ISP MWEB has been hacked and the details of several of their business clients have been posted online."

What we see here is MWEB and NEWS24 being dishonest and trying to downplay the event. Its pretty clear by visitng the Seclists.org site showing the hack that it was not several accounts that were hacked, but several hundred:

http://goo.gl/ELIx

Well for me personally. I wont be using or recommending MWEB again. The whole way the handled this was dishonest and deceitful.

To my readers. Be careful of the company you trust with your personal data and be sure to research the integrity of Internet providers in South Africa. For the majority of them the bottom line is more important than honest.

UPDATE: It looks like one of the compromised accounts belongs to the South African National Defense Force:

"mweb-bussol-pta-279 () busdsl mweb net kyztrnvb s4096 Joint Operational HQ / SANDF"

Primoris Stilus

2010-10-22T16:05:00.000+02:00

Greetings and salutations

This is not my first blog, this is not my second blog, but hopefully it will be my last blog. For almost a decade now I have tried to learn the elusive art of stringing certain words together so that they make an intelligent sounding sentence. I have still have not got this rght.

Since this is the first post on my blog I suppose I better give my readers an indication of what they have gotten themselves into by following my blog and reading my articles. Articles on my blog will mostly deal with South African and international politics, articles around religion, atheism and pantheism. I am also an avid fan of history and the natural sciences so expect to be regularly ambushed by articles that have as much excitement in them as a Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk porn video.

Without a doubt some of what I write will upset some people, make others laugh and probably result in several court cases and a lump of cheese. I think I should clarify something for the sake of avoiding hypocrisy. Anything I write is bias and opinionated. Everything you read is bias and opinionated. If you want something less bias than my blog feel free to browse Wikipedia. If you want an article expressing a more personal perspective... well.. Welcome to my blog!

I do do my best to keep the information I am presenting as accurate as possible and am always open up to new ideas, corrections and more accurate data. Please feel free to comment and correct me in my imperfect moments.

Kind regards,

The Author of this blog.