Jacob "Umshini Wami" Zuma is home free

Or so it seems, with that massive sword hanging over his head gone. The path clear to the ANC presidency and then on to the highest post in the land, that of state president.

After the narrow scrape with the recent rape trial he dodges the cannonball, that of the alleged corruption trial saga.

With mass celebration he walked out of the court a free man, as the judge struck the entire case off roll.

There apparently were serious flaws in the states' preparation of the case and when Pietermaritzburg high court judge, Hon. Msimang (I wonder if he is related to the embattled health minister) looked it over he threw it out immediately.

I shudder to think of the shenanigans in the background that led to the judge making such a decision. The barriers and obstacles thrown up by the defense to impact the effectiveness of the prosecution's attempts to investigate. The bribery and corruption that was almost certainly involved.

Umshini Wami - A Zulu song that Mr Zuma sings whenever he addresses his crowds of followers. "Umshini Wami" roughly translates to machine-gun (AK-47).

He clearly has the resources and allies to do practically anything he wants.

His former friend, Schabir Schaik, that was left dangling when he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on corruption charges, definitely did not have the same wherewithal to dodge his bullet. Shaik's trial involved Mr. Zuma and the French arms company, Thint, this opened the way for Zuma's own corruption trial.

Here is an except from the BBC profile of the man:

...

When the ANC came to power in South Africa, he served for five years in the provincial government of his home region, KwaZulu-Natal, before being selected as deputy president when Thabo Mbeki took office in 1999.

This was a strategic move by Mr Mbeki. Mr Zuma was able to draw support from key ANC constituencies such as Cosatu and the ANC Youth League, and continued to do so in a period when conservative economic policies introduced under Mr Mbeki ran the risk of alienating the party rank and file.

Moreover, as a member of the Zulu ethnic group, Mr Zuma was seen by the ANC as someone with appeal to a group of people whose loyalties are divided between the ethnically diverse ruling party and the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party.

...

Before that trial, Mr Zuma's succession to the presidency was taken as given. For anyone else who may have had presidential ambitions, there was simply no point in taking the political risk of putting themselves forward as a challenger.

...

Now that the man once appointed to head the government's Moral Regeneration Campaign has become embroiled in a rape scandal, the chances of a Zuma presidency have dwindled almost to nothing.

From BBC

I reckon that there is enough time for him to rebuild his tarnished image and place him in the presidency in 2009.

That is if the state fails to rebuild the case against him with fresh evidence and there are no more skeletons in his closet waiting to fall out. He has always had the support of the far left wing (Communist Party, Cosatu, ANC Youth League) and a strong support base in Kwa-Zulu Natal, the heartland of Zulu supporters.

Here is what he has to say after the trial:
...

"They asked me what the charges are instead of asking the state. They had already sentenced me," said Zuma. "You [his supporters] showed that you know what democracy, constitution, judiciary and the law is."
...
"I said I was innocent, I am still saying I am innocent, I will repeat it tomorrow. I can say anything I like because there is no sub judice now."
...

And the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) had to say this:

"The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is obviously disappointed with this decision, but wishes to stress that it does not detract from the strength of the state's case or the ability of the NPA to bring the matter to trial when the various issues delaying the trial have been resolved,"

"In view of the unprecedented public interest around this matter, and its potential to affect public confidence in our criminal justice system, the NPA firmly believes that the case should be decided on its merits, and not on the basis of procedural technicalities,"

And further along:
...
Msimang's decision to throw out the charges also applied to the state's case against Thint.
...
South Africa's rand slipped on news of Msimang's decision, moving to 7,4125 to the dollar from 7,36 to the dollar earlier in the day.

Economic analysts, along with many educated South Africans, say the prospect of a Zuma presidential campaign could be bad news for South Africa's international image, built in part on a reputation for a strong stance against corruption.
...

From Mail & Guardian

The clubbers guide to spending

The following companies stand to make some money out of you if you decide to go clubbing.

• Clothing vendors
• Cellphone vendors
• GSM networks
• Car dealers
  
• Fuel Vendors
• Parking attendants / Parkades
  
• Fast Food outlets
• Beverage manufacturers
• Pubs/Clubs
• Doctors & Pharmacies

Firstly if you are starting from scratch, you need decent attire, a cellphone with airtime, a car and petrol (unless you're getting a lift - in that case your lift picks up that tab), food and drinks (cocktails, beers, etc), entrance fee to various clubs and pubs. If you become infected with one (or more!) of the many flu type virii found in these places you will probably need the services of your Doctor and local Pharmacy.

I know this is a bit of a pessimistic outlook as you probably already have decent clothes, a car, petrol, a cellphone and airtime and you might not catch the flu because you've had the latest anti-flu injection. The point is that it is pretty difficult to have a good time alone, in your normal tee-shirt and thong sandals and relying on public transport to get there (granted the public transport system is pretty good in some places).

So next next time you wonder why there are so many clubs and pubs around, just remember there are a lot more companies scoring off of the clubbers than just the clubs themselves.

Lets say you already have a car, rich rags and a phone at the very least you'll be spending

R20 - R80+ for airtime.
R50 - R100+ for petrol
R20 - R40+ for food
R0 - R20 for parking
R0 - R50+ for club entrance
R50+ for drinks (this one is up to you!)

Total about R150 - R400+ per night of partying!

...and if you get flu and you see the doc he will most probably put you on antibiotics so that's another R300+

Who said having fun was cheap?

'Constant Gardener' prediction coming to pass?

In the recent movie 'Constant Gardener' an unscrupulous drug company was doing drug trials in Kenya for a drug the can cure a deadly form of extremely drug resistant TB. There were problems with the drug and some of the patients participating in the trials died as a result of taking the drug. This was of course elaborately covered up.

The prediction was a plague of untreatable TB, spreading far and wide across the world. The drug company had created an imperfect drug that could combat the disease, with the side effect that kills some people. Unfortunately the drug company chose to try and force the drug through its trials and bring it to market. This was due to pressure from the stock market and the dream of making a big money before people realize that it actually kills as much as cures.
Some great acting too. Well worth a watching.

Enough about the movie...back to reality

There are reports of a new outbreak of extreme drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. Reports are that about 53 confirmed cases were discovered and 52 of those have died within 25 days of contracting the disease. Combine this with the high HIV prevalence in the area and we have a recipe for disaster.

This strain is resistant to the front-line drugs and half of the more toxic second-line drugs, making it extremely difficult to treat.

BBC
IOL

Microsoft's "Linux Infiltration Squad" at work?

I came across an interesting story about why a Debian contributor decided to resign from the project. He places the blame on the project's pretty relaxed "everybody is equal" outlook which contributes to the very slow decision making process. In the end he just got more and more frustrated to the point of resigning.

Then the comments started rolling in, people denouncing him, people agreeing with him and a few without a clue. Then someone started a thread that hinted at a 3rd force that seems to have the goal of undermining and hindering the progress of some of the larger Linux projects. This includes working their way into positions of authority or influence , whereby they can steer the focus of discussion and progress away from potentially critical improvements to the Linux system, or at the very least to slow down progress in those areas.

There are some cases where people try to open discussion on some "taboo" subject on their favorite discussion sites, only to get modded down or outright deleted on other sites.

These taboo subjects vary based on the subject under discussion. If they can't mod you down they will post in opposition to you, making you the idiot or trying to steer interest away from the topic.

The entity that has the most to lose from the success of Linux appears to be Microsoft. They don't seem to have any qualms about using unethical practices to achieve their success. They definitely have the financial resources and support to implement a program of this nature and they have a division that looks at compatibility with Open Source/Linux technology. Perhaps that particular division has a more sinister reason for its existence.

See the evidence for yourself via this link: NewsForge

It starts from about the fifth comment down with the title "Microsoft Rabble-Rousers are Probably Involved"

Interesting stuff

Fluid body armor.
Armor that is liquid and can be worn like normal clothing, but hardens immediately upon impact. The technology is still in prototype phase and cannot withstand high powered ammunition yet. However it successfully protects against knife stabbings, hypodermic needles and some low-powered ammunition.
I think it would be great for law enforcement officers, bouncers, security guards all over.
timesonline link




Long range tazer.
Yip a tazer system without wires and much longer range. The pistol could become semi-automatic too. Again a score for the law enforcers.
engadget link




Intelligent traffic signs.
Sign boards that flash when you're speeding and displays your number plate number below it. It seems the psychological impact of you being identified to the other road users is enough for most people to slow down. Next do a database lookup and display the driver's name below the number plate. I think they should have a few of them, say every 500m and if you don't take notice, after the second one say, you get a logarithmic series of increasing fines or until the cops pull you over! Imagine "Joe Bloggs has just been fined £500 for exceeding the speed limit" in big bright letters on one of the overhead signs, or even better on one of those huge billboards.
engadget link

Baiting the car thieves

Came across an interesting article that describes a new tactic in combating car vehicle theft. The way it works is they kit out likely cars with an advanced vehicle tracking system. The tracking system includes voice and video recording, GPS logging and the ability to contact the police when the vehicle is being stolen. The interesting thing is the 100% conviction rate, as a result of the voice and video recording equipment in the vehicle.

Could this be the next-generation vehicle tracking system? I mean if you take the existing Satellite/GSM based tracking systems available today and augment it with GPS and recording capabilities this could go a long way to getting car thieves off the street.

Take this a step further, embed the camera into the dashboard and when the doors open start recording for 60sec. Then connect via a 3G link to the tracking company and upload the footage. This can be vital in identifying hijackers.

The GPS data could also be transmitted periodically. If the car goes out of cellular coverage, the data recovered when the car is found, would be extremely valuable to the authorities.

Here is the original story

Obstacles to Achieving an Objective

1. Technology

• equipment
  
• enhances perception
  
• enables achievement of goals
  
• reduces cost and time expenditure.

2. Permission

• access
  
• rights
  
• privilege
  
• trust

3. Cost

• resources
  
• impact on others (political, environmental, economic, macro and micro)

4. Time

• the ultimate resource
  
• cannot be controlled, nor contained.

5. Perception

• experiencing the phenomena
  
• seeing
  
• detecting progress

6. Vision

• the goal-posts
  
• the dream
  
• milestones
  
• plans

7. Comprehension

• understanding
  
• interpretation
  
• mental agility

8. Determination

• face the adversities, frustrations, disappointments and persecution
  
• conquer fear and generate courage
• bravery
  
• maintain morale
  
• keep in control and to terminate if neccessary.

Questions one must ask before attempting an objective.
Do we have

• the means?
• permission?
• enough?
• the time?
• a vision?
  

Can we see it?
Can we understand it?

Dare we attempt it?