Japan nailed again

http://abcnews.go.com/International/japan-battered-tropical-storm-songda-nuclear-reactor-fukushima/story?id=13720225

Tropical Storm Songda Hits Japan Region Still Reeling From Earthquake and Tsunami
Heavy rains and strong winds battered the northeast coast of Japan Monday as Tropical Storm Songda touched down on a region still reeling from a massive earthquake and tsunami, triggering mudslides and widespread flooding that forced the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactor to suspend outdoor work.
For residents of the Tohoku region, the area hardest hit by the March 11 earthquake -- Japan's worst natural disaster -- there was an eerie sense of deja vu. The magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami that followed killed more than 240,000 people and triggered a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Power plant, where the reactors remain unstable nearly three months later.

The Lions have won again ... finally off the bottom of the log

http://www.sportscentral.co.za/lions-finally-move-off-bottom-of-log/490/

Tornado update: this will go down as the worst in US history

One twister will see over 300 dead. This in a country that is seriously well prepared for them.

New study shows you could be eating shark instead of swordfish!

A mako shark fillet, above, is often passed off as swordfish, top.



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/science/earth/27fish.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25


Tests Reveal Mislabeling of Fish

Scientists aiming their gene sequencers at commercial seafood are discovering rampant labeling fraud in supermarket coolers and restaurant tables: cheap fish is often substituted for expensive fillets, and overfished species are passed off as fish whose numbers are plentiful.

Yellowtail stands in for mahi-mahi. Nile perch is labeled as shark, and tilapia may be the Meryl Streep of seafood, capable of playing almost any role.

Recent studies by researchers in North America and Europe harnessing the new techniques have consistently found that 20 to 25 percent of the seafood products they check are fraudulently identified, fish geneticists say.

One reason the ANC can never be trusted

We couldn't trust the Nats.

We cannot trust the ANC.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/ANC-sticks-to-guns-on-info-bill-20110526-3

ANC sticks to guns on info bill
Cape Town - Opposition parties pleaded in vain on Thursday that South Africans were going to rue the wide powers the protection of information bill would give intelligence services, as ruling party MPs proceeded with an apparent bid to rush the draft law through Parliament.

The Inkatha Freedom Party's Mario Oriani-Ambrosini told colleagues the country's spies had a history of abusing their powers and it would be unwise to give them further opportunity to do so.

"What we are setting in place here in a South African context, in which there is a huge security apparatus bloated by apartheid, ANC and the self-governing territories... [which] has already been deviant in the Zuma case and many other cases.

Snow in the Eastern Cape: great gallery

http://www.news24.com/Galleries/Image/Images/MyNews24/Snow%20in%20the%20Eastern%20Cape

Tornado in Oklahoma ... damage unbelievable

Letter from Namibia

This was forwarded to me by Owen and Melody Williams.

Barkly East yesterday: amazing snow

Pic sent to me by my mother-in-law.

Zapiro on the rapture and ANC's win

Farm murders

My parents-in-law, who run a travel business, took people to an agricultural show near Klerksdorp - NAMPO.
My mother-in-law Marja writes:

"They have a group of remembrance walls for all the farmers that have been murdered. Chilling stats. There is a wall for each province.

"Mind blowing tragedy!

"But on a comic note ... farmers are actually killing themselves. Have never seen so many fat overweight men. One in three is overweight. Do farmers just sit on the stoep eating koeksisters???

“Kill the boer, kill the farmer” taking on a whole new meaning."

Her pics below.

On the ANC, DA, merit and Stalinism

Neighbours have been debating whether the ANC or DA should run our ward. The DA won comfortably. I thought I would post this response. I hold no brief for the DA or the ANC, but believe merit is the only yardstick.

I wrote:
It is important - if not critical - to note that the DA is the first meaningful, substantial party in South Africa that is not:

* Racist
* Nationalist
* Stalinist

The National Party, which ruled South Africa for so many decades, was utterly racist and nationalist.

The ANC is inherently racist and Stalinist. Merit is subjugated to party loyalty. Dissidence is not tolerated, unless it comes from the unspeakable Malema. Logic flies out of the window. Nursing and teachers' schools are closed down. Roads are allowed to deteriorate. 70% of municipal income is spent on salaries. Budgets are underspent.

Eskom is allowed to run itself into the ground. The Land Bank collapses as competent people (Helena Dolny) are worked out for ANC cronies. Cronyism rules.

Pupils are allowed to pass with 30%. We are in the bottom five of most measures in Africa. We have a 45% unemployed rate. Children die in droves in hospitals. People are sent home for years on full pay. Teachers work *three* months a year.

Merit is punished and excellence penalised. Dr Anthony Turton tells us of the looming water crisis and he is fired. Utter incompetents such as Zuma's nephew can become billionaires overnight. He is allowed to go for over a year without paying his workers and he is shielded. He destroys our water supply and the government first denies it has happened and then invests R200m to fix the problem. The Gupta family is allowed to take over swathes of the South African economy and Eskom is raided for the ANC purse. The ANC was bankrupt in 2005, and today it has over R2bn in the bank. That is our money.

The DA, for all its faults, is a meritocracy. You are rewarded for your skills, not your cadre record. Its municipalities work.

Whatever the ANC once was, it now exists for itself. And this is bad in any country, but people will only be fooled for so long.

There are a number of evils in politics:

* Nationalism
* Socialism
* Communism/Stalinism
* Fascism
* Racism

Three of these manifest in the ANC, and they all deny merit and advance mediocrity and punish excellence.

Let the ANC win our ward back on merit. Chances are zero this will happen in our lifetime.

Update: Tornadoes hit US

Update: 116 people killed in one city ... the worst since 1953.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/23/national/main20065247.shtml

Update: Tornado Strikes a Missouri City, Hitting a Hospital and Killing Many

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/us/24tornado.html?smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

Update: And here is an unreal slideshow:


http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/05/23/us/20110523_TORNADO_600.html

A tornado steamrolled over Joplin, Mo., on Sunday night, knocking out a hospital and killing dozens of people across the city, according to various reports.

Joplin, which was in the direct path of the tornado, was left isolated and in the dark after the destruction, with telephone connections largely cut off and many homes without electricity after the twister touched down around 6 p.m.

Reuters quoted the Newton County coroner, Mark Bridges, as saying about 30 people had been killed, and 11 bodies had been recovered from just one location. 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=136563371

Tornadoes ripped through parts of the Midwest on Sunday, killing at least one person in Minneapolis and an unknown number of others in a Missouri town where a hospital was hit.
Damage was widespread across the south side of Joplin. John Campbell, operations director for the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed fatalities have been reported, but he did not yet have an exact number or specifics.
Phone communications in and out of the city of about 50,000 people about 160 miles south of Kansas City were largely cut off.

Tiger stops play ... first time ever

http://www.sportscentral.co.za/first-time-in-cricket-history-tiger-stops-play/462/

Zapiro update on toilets

You either put someone worthwhile in charge, or this happens. I think we are all gatvol of lack of service delivery due to cadre deployment.

The racism and intolerance of some members of the ANC laid bare

http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/article1079148.ece/Mampara-of-the-week--Nceba-Faku


Update: http://www.timeslive.co.za/specialreports/elections2011/article1080061.ece/ANC-rejects-call-to-burn-down-PE-newspaper

To its credit, the ANC has rejected Faku's call for the Herald to be burned down and non-ANC supporters to be chased into the sea.

This is what Faku was quoted as saying: "Down with The Herald, down! Burn The Herald! The Herald dictated that (DA leader Helen) Zille and (COPE's Smuts) Ngonyama would stand here today and run the metro. The Herald was on the forefront of that ... Pasop, The Herald, pasop!

"We sacrificed our families, we gave our flesh and blood for the struggle. Go and burn The Herald! We will face a bullet with a bullet!"

Faku was also quoted as saying black people who did not like other black people and their organisations should be driven into the sea or go to Europe.

He said the ANC would deliver only to those communities that voted for it.

"Down with white political parties, down! Down with those who vote for white political parties!"

Faku you mampara
ANC Nelson Mandela Bay chairman Nceba Faku incited party members to burn down The Herald newspaper on Friday as he celebrated the party's election victory outside the city hall. He also called for blacks who voted for "white" parties to be driven into the sea.

"The primary battle of the ANC has been with the media, especially The Herald, in this region ... Go and burn The Herald," he told supporters.

You may be asking: "WhaddaFaku's on about?" Well, Faku's name has been linked to suspect tenders and municipal land sales in PE, and he blames his troubles on the media. This mampara trampled on the legacy of the man his region is named for.

Look in the mirror, mampara, and say: "No, Nceba (pause) Faku."

Update on Iceland volcanic eruption

Update: Yesterday's best pic. More to come.

Update: Latest pic of the volcanic eruption.

 Update: And yet another mind-blowing volcano pic.

Update: New pic of the volcanic eruption, whose ash will reach UK airspace on Tuesday.

This eruption was predicted last year. There is almost certainly a worse one coming.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43121772

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Iceland's most active volcano has started erupting, scientists said Saturday — just over a year after another eruption on the North Atlantic island shut down European air traffic for days.

Iceland's Meteorological Office confirmed that an eruption had begun at the Grimsvotn volcano, accompanied by a series of small earthquakes. Smoke could be seen rising nearly seven miles from the volcano, which lies under the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland.

Our navy

USS REAGAN



Seeing it next to the Arizona Memorial really puts its size into perspective... ENORMOUS!

When the Bridge pipes "Man the Rail" there is a lot of rail to man on this monster: shoulder to shoulder, around 2 hectares. Her displacement is about 100 000 tons with full complement.  

Capability

Top speed exceeds 30 knots, powered by two nuclear reactors that can operate for more than 20 years without refueling                   

1. Expected to operate in the fleet for about 50 years

2. Carries over 80 combat aircraft 

3. Three arresting cables can stop a 28-ton aircraft going 150 miles per hour in less than 400 feet

Size

1.Towers 20 storeys above the waterline

2.300m long; nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall

3.4 bronze propellers, each 7m across, weighing 30 000kg

5. 2 rudders, each 29 by 22 feet and weighing 50 tons

6. 4 high-speed aircraft elevators, each over 1 000m2

Capacity

1. Home to about 6 000 Navy personnel 

2. Carries enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days

3. 18 150 meals served daily

4. Distillation plants provide 400 000 gallons of fresh water from sea water daily, enough for 2 000 homes      

5.  Nearly 30 000 light fixtures and 2 100km of cable and wiring 1 400 telephones

6.  14 000 pillowcases and 28 000 sheets


USS BILL CLINTON

The USS William Jefferson Clinton (CVS1)


The ship is the first of its kind in the Navy and is a standing legacy to President Bill Clinton 'for his foresight in military budget cuts' and his conduct while holding the (formerly dignified) office of President.

The ship is constructed nearly entirely from recycled aluminum and is completely solar-powered with a top speed of 5 knots. It boasts an arsenal comprised of one (unarmed) F14 Tomcat or one (unarmed) F18 Hornet aircraft which, although they cannot be launched on the 100 foot flight deck, form a very menacing presence.

As a standing order, there are no firearms allowed on board.

This crew, like the crew aboard the USS Jimmy Carter, is specially trained to avoid conflicts and appease any and all enemies of the US at all costs.

An onboard Type One DNC Universal Translator can send out messages of apology in any language to anyone who may find America offensive.  The number of apologies are limitless and though some may seem hollow and disingenuous, the Navy advises all apologies will sound very sincere.  

In times of conflict, the USS Clinton has orders to seek refuge in Canada .

And then we have the USS JACOB ZUMA

Royal wedding and Osama

PC gone crazy ... every one of us would be in trouble if this were a standard practice

James Nichols and Kristine Kuzora of Bloom Township, Ohio, are appealing against their son's suspension from Canal Winchester Middle School. The 13-year-old boy farted on the school bus, and school officials dubbed it an "obscene gesture" in violation of the student code of conduct. Vice principal Daniel Senu-Oke "suggested my son should hold his gas on this hour-long bus ride, if in fact he has gas", Nichols said. (RC/Columbus Dispatch)

Tragicomic accident: did not happen in SA ... see how he uses his lighter

Govt to honour Hansie ...

http://www.sportscentral.co.za/hansie-cronje-to-be-honoured/422/

How the rest of the world sometimes sees us

Chris Broad and how he lost his wife

I met Chris Broad, father of new England captain Stuart, briefly in 1992. For anyone who loves a partner with that depth of feeling that cannot be described, this is impossibly sad.

Joost has the same illness as Chris's wife.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/8513580/Chris-Broad-interview-I-would-have-liked-to-have-held-my-wifes-hand-as-she-slipped-away.html

On July last year former cricketer Chris Broad kissed his wife, Michelle, goodnight. He then went to the spare room and tried to sleep, knowing that by morning she would be dead. “I would have liked to give her some support,” he says with a steadiness one can see has been painfully acquired through much crying. “Having shared a life I would have liked to have held her hand as she passed away.”

Michelle, who had motor neurone disease (MND), committed suicide and Broad could not be with her because the law in this country does not allow it. If he had been in the room when Michelle took a fatal dose of painkillers, he would have been questioned by police and could have faced a 14-year jail sentence. Had he helped his wife to take the drugs, he could have been charged with murder. Many in his position might have stayed by her side and lied about it later, but Michelle, 60, was adamant he stayed away. She wanted to protect him. “Also, I’m a terrible liar,” he says ruefully.

Broad, 53, has been telling this story to Lord Falconer’s Commission on Assisted Suicide, which is examining areas where the law might be changed.

How Osama e-mailed non-stop and was never tracked

http://us.generation-nt.com/bin-laden-emails-usb-news-2916301.html

Bin Laden: A frequent email user despite no Internet connection
May 16th, 2011 - 12:45 pm ET by J. G.

While he had no Internet connection in his Pakistan hideout, Osama Bin Laden was nevertheless a frequent email user. His messages were saved to a USB memory stick for sending.

Killed at the beginning of the month in a commando operation conducted by American Special Forces, the leader of Al-Qaida had managed to evade all computer surveillance from his hide out in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Osama Bin Laden was a prolific emailer through, allowing him to stay in contact with members of his terrorist network throughout the world.

Communication without risking capture was a disciplined affair, with a specific procedure strictly followed to avoid detection. From his Pakistan residence, Osama Bin Laden had no internet access, or even a telephone connection.

Dumbest criminals of all time

Investigators solved a $62 000 bank robbery in Houston, Texas, thanks to the suspects posting details of the crime to Facebook. Two days before the heist, bank teller Estefany  Martinez, 19, posted, "Get $$$." The day after, she posted, "IM RICH". Her boyfriend, Ricky "Ricko Gee" Gonzalez, 18, posted "WIPE MY TEETH WITH HUNDEREDS" and "U HAVE TO PAST THE LINE SOMETIMES!! TO GET DIS MONEY!!" Online friends tipped the cops to the posts after hearing about the robbery at Martinez's bank. The only other teller on duty during the robbery, Anna Margarita Rivera, also 19, was also arrested in the plot. Her brother, Arturo Solano, 22, allegedly helped Gonzalez pull off the actual heist. Martinez was on duty during a previous real robbery and, she told detectives, thought staging a robbery would be "easy" to pull off. (MS/Houston Chronicle)

Definitive picture of the ANC's uncovered toilets in Viljoenskroon

Or, as they now are known, the place where you take a cabriolet pooh.

Shopping can be hazardous to your health

http://www.news24.com/World/News/Man-beheads-woman-in-Spain-supermarket-20110513

Man beheads woman in Spain supermarket
2011-05-13 18:35

Madrid - A man randomly attacked and beheaded a woman in a supermarket on the Spanish resort island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Friday, officials said.

The suspect, believed to be a homeless Bulgarian man with a police record, was detained by security guards after he ran out of the supermarket with the blood-soaked head in his hands.

On being hit in cricket

Cricket is a rough game: http://www.sportscentral.co.za/on-being-hit/383/

Check the two images. This is one, from yesterday.

Neil McKenzie is given an earful ...

The height of British cuisine

ANC Youth League website apparently again hacked this afternoon

Unconfirmed, as it is definitely back to normal, but this would be very funny if true.

ANC and open toilets ... the saga continues

Update:  ANC lies (as it does so often). It knew about the uncovered toilets.

And who got the cushy contract for the construction of 200 enclosed toilets? The mayor of Maghoka municipality’s company! Great job, insider trading.

Meanwhile, ANC spokespeople keep saying that they had no idea what was going on – because given the choice between blind incompetence and culpable apathy, it’s best to go with the position of least responsibility.

Jackson Mthembu, ANC national spokesperson, shows us the way:

Do you know how many things we have to handle every day in Luthuli House? Do you have any idea? I am telling you now we didn’t know about it.

http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2011/05/12/shitstorm-anc-forced-to-admit-they-knew-about-unenclosed-toilets/

The mayor of the municipality under which Khutsong denies there any open toilets there.


http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article1063469.ece/No-open-toilets-in-Merafong--Mayor

This is like a red rag to a bull for the media. Send a photographer out and what do you find?

Did the ref cost Stormers victory on Saturday

I'm a diehard WP/Stormers fan and always will be. I'm never one to blame refs for any defeat, but this looks as good a case for "we wuz robbed" as any!


http://www.sportscentral.co.za/ref-error-could-have-cost-stormers-victory/376/

No salaries for Swazis, but look who's at the royal wedding

 
http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/article1061977.ece/Swaziland-cant-pay-civil-servants

Swaziland can't pay civil servants

May 11, 2011 11:09 AM | By Sapa-dpa

Cash-strapped Swaziland will most likely be unable to pay civil servants their salaries, the finance minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

The King of Swaziland King Mswati III arrives at Westminster Abbey before the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton, in central London April 29, 2011.

Majozi Sithole said the government might not find the funds for May salaries, and as yet has no solution for June, according to The Times of Swaziland.

The tiny country of 1.2 million people to the east of South Africa is run by an absolute monarch, whose lavish lifestyle often draws criticism.

Last month, the government cracked down on opposition protests, sparked in part by a freeze placed on public employees' salaries.

Swaziland is looking for loans worth up to 150 million dollars from the African Development Bank, in order to inject urgently needed funds into its depleted coffers.

The International Monetary Fund has called for greater austerity in the country, in particular spending by the royals, and better accounting practices by the government. The fund has indicated the country would need financial support to meet its obligations.

Another serious earthquake, this time in Spain

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe/at-least-six-dead-after-earthquakes-in-spain/article2018488/

At least six dead after earthquakes in Spain
Reuters
Published Wednesday, May. 11, 2011 2:30PM EDT

Two earthquakes struck southeast Spain in quick succession Wednesday, causing houses to collapse, damaging historic churches and public buildings and killing at least six people.

The epicenter of the quakes — with magnitudes of 4.4 and 5.2 — was close to the town of Lorca, and the second came about two hours after the first, an official with the Murcia regional government said on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.

North Korea: thanks to Ivo

Our good friend Julius Malema aspires to massive state control.

This is the ultimate in state control. It will chill you. Note: not a single person anywhere smiles.


http://www.behance.net/gallery/Welcome-to-Pyongyang/827508

OK, so before I die ...

... take my wonderful wife to the Maldives.

And get a tandoor oven.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/dining/a-tandoor-oven-brings-indias-heat-to-the-backyard.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210

Osama: the movie

I said to my wife it would take six months for "The Hunt For Osama". I could not have imagined it would happen well inside that time limit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/opinion/11dowd.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

Osama is ready for his close-up. But it’s going to be less flattering — and more final — than he intended.

Mississippi flooding image

http://newsletters2.mg.co.za/servlet/link/6026/55127/6491826/498347

Zapiro on the toilets

A crying shame for both parties.

Surreal: Australia and NZ are competing for Allan Donald ...

... and South African cricket continues to ignore him. He has stated repeatedly that he wants to work in the country of his birth. He helped England win the Ashes, he is hugely in demand, and the powers that be at the Wanderers could not give a toss.

These are the same idiots who paid Graeme Pollock (reportedly) a million rand to act as batting coach and then he was banned from the nets.


http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/sport/aust-keen-to-sign-up-donald/2159226.aspx

What our ministers earn ... this will enrage you and blow your mind

http://allafrica.com/stories/201105100316.html

 Know which way to vote next week?

When it's all added up the full salary amount that 'club members' receive puts them into the rarefied stratosphere of the top 0,1% of all earners in South Africa. Our President sits at the apex of the golden triangle, pulling in a cool R2,3 million a year. Then come national ministers on R1, 8 million a year, provincial premier's on R1, 6 million, deputy ministers at R1,5 million and the 'poor' provincial MECs who have to make do with R1,4 million. When compared to the average salary of a worker which now stands at around R35 000 a year, not to mention the jobless millions whose average income from all sources tops out at R15 000 a year, this exclusive club of public representatives constitutes nothing less than a political aristocracy.

Before I die ...

... I will take my wife and family here. Be interesting to be in a walking frame, but damn!

This is the Maldives.

Osama: you can't pick your family ...

... but you can pick your nose.

How Facebook led to Osama's execution

The most ridiculous advert of all time

Anyone who owns a Ryobi appliance (I have three) will tell you they are the biggest rubbish ever made. Repair companies close their doors when you approach (and I am not kidding). They laugh at you and turn away your business when you bring them your chain saw, brush cutter, mulch machine, or edge trimmer. They all hate Ryobi.

And now Ryobi produces this ad.

Buy a Ryobi hedge trimmer, save a polar bear.