Evening all,
I trust you all had a good day, I know I did considering that tomorrow is Friday, can't fucking wait! The first thing I want to talk about is Andre Slade. For those of you who don't know, Slade is the owner of Sodwana Bay Guesthouse who it appears has some rather archaic ideas when it comes to race, OK that's a little inaccurate. Basically the man makes the AWB look like an anti-racism organization. He's written a book, "Where to from here, Cognition" which explains his theories in detail, he sights some interesting scientists, namely Carelton S. Coon, an American scientist who's work on the origin of races has been widely criticized by multiple scientists from multiple disciplines.
I would also like to point out that the entire premise of the second chapter of his book, (Ironically entitled Scientific Fakt) is based on Coon's theories, which in turn rely heavily on evolutionary science. The funny part is the fact that on the books website, (wtfh.org/chapters.html) says that the third chapter completely disproves evolution, (still getting there, should be an interesting read).
The reason Slade is in the news is the fact that he sent an e-mail to a black lady who wanted to book into his guest house. Essentially the e-mail informed her that the Sodwana Bay Guest House was no longer accepting either blacks or government officials. Now I know some of you may be thinking that the man deserves the same protection I have pointed should be implemented for Penny Sparrow. The problem for Slade is the fact that he took his racism from thoughts and speech into action. I only hope that the courts can pick this up and prosecute Slade to the full extent of the law.
I would also like to make a personal appeal to anyone reading this, first and foremost, please don't threaten or do Slade or his loved ones any harm. I am simply asking that you spread the word that Sodwana Bay Guest House is to be avoided at all costs, let's hit this fucker where it hurts, his wallet. Having said that, I somehow doubt he will change, as Bron from Game of Thrones said of Jeoffrey, "There's no cure for being a cunt."
On to other matters, there's been an incident in Viernheim, Germany where an armed gunman took hostages inside a movie theater late this afternoon, no one died other than the gunman though over 29 people were injured. Details are still sketchy at the moment but police seem certain that the motive was terrorism. What I wanted to talk about was a comment I saw from an American, something along the lines of, "So how's that gun control working for you Germany?". As someone who is very much pro-gun control I can't help but say, "Pretty well? our shooting ended in one death, that of the gunman's, remind me how yours ended again?"
I really don't mean to take the Orlando Shootings lightly but one really does have to wonder when America as a nation is going to wake up to the fact that making guns easier to get hold of is making the problem worse. Of course there will always be guns available illegally, but when someone can happily walk into a shop and but semi-automatic assault rifles without a background check it's no wonder you end up with tragedies like Orlando.
Last but by no means least is a story about a 10 week old baby named Isabelle. Isabelle's mom isn't an idiot, she plans on getting Isabelle vaccinated as soon as she's old enough, but Isabelle has contracted whooping cough. Isabelle is too young to get the vaccine, but she should have been perfectly safe except for one problem. Not everyone is as smart, (or simply not stupid) as Isabelle's mom, and so some fucking moron has now endangered poor Isabelle by not vaccinating their child. Please people, there are mountains of evidence that show that vaccines are safe and harmless, with little to non showing that there is any link at all between vaccines and autism.
The video for today is another Tim Minchin piece, a nine minute beat poem entitled Storm:
As always, I don't own the above, please do check Tim's stuff out, the man is funny as all hell.
Well, that's my rant over for tonight, please feel free to comment and follow. Also please remember to like the Facebook page.
Ta,
G
Showing posts with label News recap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News recap. Show all posts
Thursday, 23 June 2016
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
So long and thanks for all the... free speech?
Evening all,
It was all of six days ago that I was praising Facebook for their awareness in terms of their social responsibility by releasing tools to assist those thinking of suicide or self harm internationally. Well, six days later it seems I have a bone to pick with Mr Zuckerburg, to those who have not seen what's been happening, Facebook seems to be deleting Facebook groups dedicated to Atheism in Northern Africa and the middle east.
Now to clarify, Facebook aren't simply going around deleting these pages on a whim, the pages have had complaints laid against them by various users in the region. The basis for their complaint? Apparently the pages violate so-called "community standards". The Atheist Alliance - Middle East and North Africa (AA-MENA) have been rallying atheist worldwide to bring attention to the violence and censorship that atheists are subjected to in Muslim communities under the hashtag #FacebookVSFreeSpeech.
Obviously this is not something that Facebook is at fault for, current policy in the company says that community standards are violated when enough of a particular demographic lays the complaint against a page or person, so all that needs to happen is that Facebook needs to change it's policy and stop strangling free speech in Africa.
In local news, two reporters have laid charges against members of the SAPS for assault and intimidation following an incident earlier today where the police tried to stop the reporters from filming them using rubber bullets to disperse crowds of protestors in Pretoria. Having lived in London for five years, I remember the furor when members of the London police tried to stop people filming them and I happen to agreed, if the police are doing as they should, why would the be afraid of public scrutiny?
Last but by no means least is the tale of a very courageous woman named Nadia Murad. Nadia is a 23 year old Yazidi woman who was taken as a slave by members of ISIS when they took control of parts of northern Iraq in 2015. She was beaten and raped but in a supreme display of human courage and tenacity managed to escape and has had a few words for the rest of us. "ISIS will not give up their weapons unless we force them to".
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm by no stretch of the imagination a pacifist, my personal opinion is that if ISIS wants a war, the world as a whole should set everything else to one side and give them one. Every nation should band together to wipe this stain from the face of the earth. To those who point to freedom of speech, please remember that ISIS is not a big fan of talking, they are and always have been all about action against anything that they feel is anti-islamic and the free people of the world need to respond in kind. We will not be terrorized, we will not be cowed, we will fight you and we will win.
Anyway, that's my rant for the night over, tonights clip comes from Jimmy Carr regarding the most offensive joke in the world:
As always, I don't own any of the content, please do check out Jimmy's website here though a word of warning, the man has a very dark sense of humour.
Please remember to comment and subscribe and as usual, please like the Facebook page, there is a button at the top of the page that links to it.
Ta,
G
It was all of six days ago that I was praising Facebook for their awareness in terms of their social responsibility by releasing tools to assist those thinking of suicide or self harm internationally. Well, six days later it seems I have a bone to pick with Mr Zuckerburg, to those who have not seen what's been happening, Facebook seems to be deleting Facebook groups dedicated to Atheism in Northern Africa and the middle east.
Now to clarify, Facebook aren't simply going around deleting these pages on a whim, the pages have had complaints laid against them by various users in the region. The basis for their complaint? Apparently the pages violate so-called "community standards". The Atheist Alliance - Middle East and North Africa (AA-MENA) have been rallying atheist worldwide to bring attention to the violence and censorship that atheists are subjected to in Muslim communities under the hashtag #FacebookVSFreeSpeech.
Obviously this is not something that Facebook is at fault for, current policy in the company says that community standards are violated when enough of a particular demographic lays the complaint against a page or person, so all that needs to happen is that Facebook needs to change it's policy and stop strangling free speech in Africa.
In local news, two reporters have laid charges against members of the SAPS for assault and intimidation following an incident earlier today where the police tried to stop the reporters from filming them using rubber bullets to disperse crowds of protestors in Pretoria. Having lived in London for five years, I remember the furor when members of the London police tried to stop people filming them and I happen to agreed, if the police are doing as they should, why would the be afraid of public scrutiny?
Last but by no means least is the tale of a very courageous woman named Nadia Murad. Nadia is a 23 year old Yazidi woman who was taken as a slave by members of ISIS when they took control of parts of northern Iraq in 2015. She was beaten and raped but in a supreme display of human courage and tenacity managed to escape and has had a few words for the rest of us. "ISIS will not give up their weapons unless we force them to".
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm by no stretch of the imagination a pacifist, my personal opinion is that if ISIS wants a war, the world as a whole should set everything else to one side and give them one. Every nation should band together to wipe this stain from the face of the earth. To those who point to freedom of speech, please remember that ISIS is not a big fan of talking, they are and always have been all about action against anything that they feel is anti-islamic and the free people of the world need to respond in kind. We will not be terrorized, we will not be cowed, we will fight you and we will win.
Anyway, that's my rant for the night over, tonights clip comes from Jimmy Carr regarding the most offensive joke in the world:
As always, I don't own any of the content, please do check out Jimmy's website here though a word of warning, the man has a very dark sense of humour.
Please remember to comment and subscribe and as usual, please like the Facebook page, there is a button at the top of the page that links to it.
Ta,
G
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
#Fuckyouiwontdowhatyoutellme!
Evening all,
First and foremost I feel I have to honor a hero, Mthetho Sandla, an SAPS officer in Cape Town was brutally murdered in the early hours of the 13th of June while he and his partner are believed to have thwarted an ATM robbery as there were explosives found at the scene. To ntate Sandla's family from the people of South Africa, our heart felt thanks to you for giving us your son's life in serving his country and it's people. We can offer little by way of comfort but hope that knowing he died to protect the people of South Africa gives some sense of pride and solace. One can only hope that the bastards who killed him are caught and have the full weight of the law thrown at them. It's stories like these that make me want capital punishment to be reinstated.
In other infuriating, though hardly surprising, news, the SABC is censoring any and all coverage of protests around the country in the run up to the local elections in August. Clearly an apartheid-like ploy to censor what news the majority of South Africans have access to. Thankfully though, the SOS Coalition have created an online petition with over 4000 signatures to hand over to ICASA tomorrow when the regulator will hear arguments from the SABC as to why it has made the decision. For those wishing to sign the petition (I have just done so) please go here.
To put a positive spin on this story, the fact that this has been caught by ICASA is one of the reasons I still have faith in this country, as well as our democracy. Sure, we have corruption, and the current government is trying every trick in the book to try and stop word of their misdeeds getting to the majority of South Africans, but thankfully we live in a country where even the mighty are held accountable. (Unless their name is Jacob Zuma of course) :P.
To end on a more positive note, scientists in Australia have discovered a drug to help combat breast cancer in women. Not to get into the sciencey jargon, the drug essentially helps prevent breast cells with a high likelihood of mutating into cancerous cells from doing so. The previous recommended solution was a mastectomy, though this will hopefully allow this life altering surgery to become a last resort. It will be a good few years before it will be available to patients outside of clinical trials but initial research looks very promising.
For tonight's entertainment I've chosen the music video for Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name. Please remember I don't own the media, if you are into something heavy with a bit of hip-hop thrown in, give them a look up.
Well, that's all folks, please remember to follow and comment, also remember to like the Facebook page :)
Ta,
G
First and foremost I feel I have to honor a hero, Mthetho Sandla, an SAPS officer in Cape Town was brutally murdered in the early hours of the 13th of June while he and his partner are believed to have thwarted an ATM robbery as there were explosives found at the scene. To ntate Sandla's family from the people of South Africa, our heart felt thanks to you for giving us your son's life in serving his country and it's people. We can offer little by way of comfort but hope that knowing he died to protect the people of South Africa gives some sense of pride and solace. One can only hope that the bastards who killed him are caught and have the full weight of the law thrown at them. It's stories like these that make me want capital punishment to be reinstated.
In other infuriating, though hardly surprising, news, the SABC is censoring any and all coverage of protests around the country in the run up to the local elections in August. Clearly an apartheid-like ploy to censor what news the majority of South Africans have access to. Thankfully though, the SOS Coalition have created an online petition with over 4000 signatures to hand over to ICASA tomorrow when the regulator will hear arguments from the SABC as to why it has made the decision. For those wishing to sign the petition (I have just done so) please go here.
To put a positive spin on this story, the fact that this has been caught by ICASA is one of the reasons I still have faith in this country, as well as our democracy. Sure, we have corruption, and the current government is trying every trick in the book to try and stop word of their misdeeds getting to the majority of South Africans, but thankfully we live in a country where even the mighty are held accountable. (Unless their name is Jacob Zuma of course) :P.
To end on a more positive note, scientists in Australia have discovered a drug to help combat breast cancer in women. Not to get into the sciencey jargon, the drug essentially helps prevent breast cells with a high likelihood of mutating into cancerous cells from doing so. The previous recommended solution was a mastectomy, though this will hopefully allow this life altering surgery to become a last resort. It will be a good few years before it will be available to patients outside of clinical trials but initial research looks very promising.
For tonight's entertainment I've chosen the music video for Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name. Please remember I don't own the media, if you are into something heavy with a bit of hip-hop thrown in, give them a look up.
Well, that's all folks, please remember to follow and comment, also remember to like the Facebook page :)
Ta,
G
Monday, 20 June 2016
All apologies
Evening all,
First and foremost I need to apologize for the lack of posts over the weekend, I've no real excuse for Saturday other than laziness, (and getting caught up in playing Borderlands 2 again). In typical South African style, I had no electricity for around 8 hours on Sunday and so was unable to post then. The plan had been to reserve weekends for a more personal blog, discussing what I've been up to in the past week etc but I'm not sure if enough people would give a fuck to make it worthwhile writing about. As a result I think Saturday's will be up in the air, if anyone has any suggestions regarding content please let me know, Sunday's I will do a weekly roundup and catch-up of stories covered in that week.
So with the apology out of the way, let's have a look at some of the news from over the weekend. A pretty scary statistic is the fact that the number of refugees worldwide has reached over 65 million, the largest that number has ever been. I suppose it's not difficult to understand why, considering the rise of ISIS but it's definitely still a startling number, especially when you consider the burden on the countries that refugees are fleeing to. One needs only to look at what's been happening throughout Europe to know that this has had far reaching effects.
For those who don't know, the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China is around the corner again, sparking debates around the world concerning animal rights and welfare. Now before I go on, I must confess to being a carnivore, there is little in this world as good as a good rare steak, I don't feel particularly guilty about the fact, humans are omnivores after all and whilst we are now able to survive without meat, provided that we take various supplements, I'm holding out on the vegan train until we can grow a decent steak in the lab, (we aren't too far off either).
On that note, I feel more than a little conflicted regarding the Festival. First let's assume that the reports of dogs being tortured or skinned alive are false, (though sadly these reports seem to be accurate) and that the animals are treated humanely, killed quickly and do not suffer. As a dog person my first emotional reaction is still to shout "...but you can't do that to man's best friend!!" but intellectually, I understand that there are people who keep pigs, (or raw bacon as I call them) as pets. They, I assume, feel just as outraged at my Saturday morning breakfast.
The point that I'm trying to make is that we need to separate the issue's at hand. For most the worst part may be the incredible pain suffered by the animals, but added to that is the species of animal the pain is being inflicted upon. Well, what makes a dog's life any more valuable than a pig or cow? The emotional connection is what leads the majority of us to feel disgust, but surely that makes us nothing more than hypocrites? My opinion is that provided that the animal is not endangered, and does not suffer unduly, there cannot be any animal "safe" from our plates, at least not until we can inexpensively grow good tasting meat in a lab for human consumption.
In more light-hearted news, did anyone else see the inflatable Donald Trump dressed up like a KKK member? To those that didn't it's a please :)
Right, That's me done for the evening, thanks again for reading and please remember to comment and follow.
Ta,
G
First and foremost I need to apologize for the lack of posts over the weekend, I've no real excuse for Saturday other than laziness, (and getting caught up in playing Borderlands 2 again). In typical South African style, I had no electricity for around 8 hours on Sunday and so was unable to post then. The plan had been to reserve weekends for a more personal blog, discussing what I've been up to in the past week etc but I'm not sure if enough people would give a fuck to make it worthwhile writing about. As a result I think Saturday's will be up in the air, if anyone has any suggestions regarding content please let me know, Sunday's I will do a weekly roundup and catch-up of stories covered in that week.
So with the apology out of the way, let's have a look at some of the news from over the weekend. A pretty scary statistic is the fact that the number of refugees worldwide has reached over 65 million, the largest that number has ever been. I suppose it's not difficult to understand why, considering the rise of ISIS but it's definitely still a startling number, especially when you consider the burden on the countries that refugees are fleeing to. One needs only to look at what's been happening throughout Europe to know that this has had far reaching effects.
For those who don't know, the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China is around the corner again, sparking debates around the world concerning animal rights and welfare. Now before I go on, I must confess to being a carnivore, there is little in this world as good as a good rare steak, I don't feel particularly guilty about the fact, humans are omnivores after all and whilst we are now able to survive without meat, provided that we take various supplements, I'm holding out on the vegan train until we can grow a decent steak in the lab, (we aren't too far off either).
On that note, I feel more than a little conflicted regarding the Festival. First let's assume that the reports of dogs being tortured or skinned alive are false, (though sadly these reports seem to be accurate) and that the animals are treated humanely, killed quickly and do not suffer. As a dog person my first emotional reaction is still to shout "...but you can't do that to man's best friend!!" but intellectually, I understand that there are people who keep pigs, (or raw bacon as I call them) as pets. They, I assume, feel just as outraged at my Saturday morning breakfast.
The point that I'm trying to make is that we need to separate the issue's at hand. For most the worst part may be the incredible pain suffered by the animals, but added to that is the species of animal the pain is being inflicted upon. Well, what makes a dog's life any more valuable than a pig or cow? The emotional connection is what leads the majority of us to feel disgust, but surely that makes us nothing more than hypocrites? My opinion is that provided that the animal is not endangered, and does not suffer unduly, there cannot be any animal "safe" from our plates, at least not until we can inexpensively grow good tasting meat in a lab for human consumption.
In more light-hearted news, did anyone else see the inflatable Donald Trump dressed up like a KKK member? To those that didn't it's a please :)
Right, That's me done for the evening, thanks again for reading and please remember to comment and follow.
Ta,
G
Thursday, 16 June 2016
Facebook FTW!
Evening all,
The first thing I want to chat about is Facebook's new Suicide prevention tool. The idea is a pretty cool one, the idea being that if you see a post from a friend or family member that you feel indicates that they may be thinking about suicide or self-harm, you can flag the post. The post then gets analyzed by a dedicated team within Facebook, (one assumes properly trained) who then assess the risk level and intervene accordingly. It has been trialed in the US since 2015 and has been fairly successful. This is a prime example of a company that takes it' social responsibility to it's clients very seriously.
Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal has said that the European Space Agency should devote it's budget to robotic space missions rather than sending astronauts into space. His thinking being that all of the tasks performed by humans can now be performed by machines, for longer and cheaper. Whilst I can see his point it doesn't address something huge. Surely the end game to space exploration has to be colonization of other planets. We know for a fact that the human population growth is unsustainable, with nothing in sight to indicate that the growth will change, we need to be looking towards sustainable solutions like colonizing other planets if we hope to survive much longer as a species.
In more positive news, following the large scale arrest of at least 3000 people suspected of being involved in recent attacks by islamic radicals in Bangladesh, one of them has been charged with the murder of Faisal Arefin Dipon because the publishing house that he headed had published books by atheist author Avijit Roy. A victory, not only in that it seems that the perpetrator will be brought to justice, but also because it seems as if police in Bangladesh are taking the matters very seriously. Let's just hope that this can bring some peace to Faisal's family.
Tonight's video comes courtesy of Chris Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut who made a music video in space. It may seem small but to me it embodies all that is good and right with this world, as well as our hope for the future.
Please remember that I don't own the content, Chris Hadfield has also done a lot in terms of Education and encouraging students to go into the sciences, please visit his youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ColChrisHadfield/featured.
Well, that's it for tonight, please remember to comment, subscribe and like the Facebook page.
Ta,
G
The first thing I want to chat about is Facebook's new Suicide prevention tool. The idea is a pretty cool one, the idea being that if you see a post from a friend or family member that you feel indicates that they may be thinking about suicide or self-harm, you can flag the post. The post then gets analyzed by a dedicated team within Facebook, (one assumes properly trained) who then assess the risk level and intervene accordingly. It has been trialed in the US since 2015 and has been fairly successful. This is a prime example of a company that takes it' social responsibility to it's clients very seriously.
Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal has said that the European Space Agency should devote it's budget to robotic space missions rather than sending astronauts into space. His thinking being that all of the tasks performed by humans can now be performed by machines, for longer and cheaper. Whilst I can see his point it doesn't address something huge. Surely the end game to space exploration has to be colonization of other planets. We know for a fact that the human population growth is unsustainable, with nothing in sight to indicate that the growth will change, we need to be looking towards sustainable solutions like colonizing other planets if we hope to survive much longer as a species.
In more positive news, following the large scale arrest of at least 3000 people suspected of being involved in recent attacks by islamic radicals in Bangladesh, one of them has been charged with the murder of Faisal Arefin Dipon because the publishing house that he headed had published books by atheist author Avijit Roy. A victory, not only in that it seems that the perpetrator will be brought to justice, but also because it seems as if police in Bangladesh are taking the matters very seriously. Let's just hope that this can bring some peace to Faisal's family.
Tonight's video comes courtesy of Chris Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut who made a music video in space. It may seem small but to me it embodies all that is good and right with this world, as well as our hope for the future.
Please remember that I don't own the content, Chris Hadfield has also done a lot in terms of Education and encouraging students to go into the sciences, please visit his youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ColChrisHadfield/featured.
Well, that's it for tonight, please remember to comment, subscribe and like the Facebook page.
Ta,
G
Wednesday, 15 June 2016
A self perpetuating cycle
Evening all,
I feel like I'm harping on a bit about this but with the latest news coming from Orlando I can't help but feel I need to share my opinion. To those who haven't seen the latest, it turns out that the shooter was most likely gay, and had been frequenting the same bar the incident happened at. Now please don't take this as sympathy for the shooter, loads of people have been through similar circumstances and not walked out the other side guns blazing, but at the same time I think that society needs to at the very least take a long hard look at how we accept discrimination of the LGBT community.
Here is a man who despised who and what he was with every fibre of his being. Despised it enough that he felt the need to end a large number of people's lives with the knowledge that his would most likely end as well. The more I read and learn about this man, the more I can't help but find his story sad. Do I think he's a piece of shit? Without a doubt, but one can't help but wonder what would have happened if he would have been supported by his family rather than ostracized.
So rapist Bob Hewitt (Fuckit, the doos is no better than rapist Brock Turner) has applied for his bail to be extended so that he has time to appeal to the constitutional court for his sentence of 6 years, (yup, 6 years of his life for ruining the lives of two women, pretty fucking pathetic if you ask me). As you may have gathered from my tone, I have little sympathy for rapist Bob Hewitt, the man is a pedophile, yes I commend him for not acting out for decades but that by no stretch of the imagination excuses him for his past crimes. Let the fucker rot!
For us here in South Africa, tomorrow is a public holiday, Youth Day to be exact. The holiday is to commemorate the youth uprising that began in Soweto on the 16th of June 1976. The crux of the matter was twofold, firstly Afrikaans had just been introduced as a compulsory subject nation wide, this brought the main reason for the uprising to boiling point, inferior education for the native black population.
The march began peacefully enough with students simply wanting to voice their grievances, however the police soon arrived and the situation was exploded into violence that lasted almost a year. The official death toll claimed that only 23 students were killed. By the time that the violence simmered down there were close on 700 people dead.
I think it's important to remember and reflect on the reasons that we have these public holidays, especially in a time where racism in South Africa seems to be rearing it's ugly head again. We as the people of South Africa need to remember the pain and suffering that racism has brought us in the past, we need to remember the brave students who gave their lives on that fateful day so that all of us could live free and happy.
Well I think that's enough rambling from me tonight, I'll leave you with a video featuring a very talented spoken word artist named Prince ea:
Please remember, I don't own the content. If you like what you watched please visit his website: http://www.princeea.com/
As always, please feel free to comment and follow, also remember to like the facebook page above.
Ta,
G
I feel like I'm harping on a bit about this but with the latest news coming from Orlando I can't help but feel I need to share my opinion. To those who haven't seen the latest, it turns out that the shooter was most likely gay, and had been frequenting the same bar the incident happened at. Now please don't take this as sympathy for the shooter, loads of people have been through similar circumstances and not walked out the other side guns blazing, but at the same time I think that society needs to at the very least take a long hard look at how we accept discrimination of the LGBT community.
Here is a man who despised who and what he was with every fibre of his being. Despised it enough that he felt the need to end a large number of people's lives with the knowledge that his would most likely end as well. The more I read and learn about this man, the more I can't help but find his story sad. Do I think he's a piece of shit? Without a doubt, but one can't help but wonder what would have happened if he would have been supported by his family rather than ostracized.
So rapist Bob Hewitt (Fuckit, the doos is no better than rapist Brock Turner) has applied for his bail to be extended so that he has time to appeal to the constitutional court for his sentence of 6 years, (yup, 6 years of his life for ruining the lives of two women, pretty fucking pathetic if you ask me). As you may have gathered from my tone, I have little sympathy for rapist Bob Hewitt, the man is a pedophile, yes I commend him for not acting out for decades but that by no stretch of the imagination excuses him for his past crimes. Let the fucker rot!
For us here in South Africa, tomorrow is a public holiday, Youth Day to be exact. The holiday is to commemorate the youth uprising that began in Soweto on the 16th of June 1976. The crux of the matter was twofold, firstly Afrikaans had just been introduced as a compulsory subject nation wide, this brought the main reason for the uprising to boiling point, inferior education for the native black population.
The march began peacefully enough with students simply wanting to voice their grievances, however the police soon arrived and the situation was exploded into violence that lasted almost a year. The official death toll claimed that only 23 students were killed. By the time that the violence simmered down there were close on 700 people dead.
I think it's important to remember and reflect on the reasons that we have these public holidays, especially in a time where racism in South Africa seems to be rearing it's ugly head again. We as the people of South Africa need to remember the pain and suffering that racism has brought us in the past, we need to remember the brave students who gave their lives on that fateful day so that all of us could live free and happy.
Well I think that's enough rambling from me tonight, I'll leave you with a video featuring a very talented spoken word artist named Prince ea:
Please remember, I don't own the content. If you like what you watched please visit his website: http://www.princeea.com/
As always, please feel free to comment and follow, also remember to like the facebook page above.
Ta,
G
Forbidden love
Evening all,
It never ceases to amaze me how often an institution apparently dedicated to love so often pushes it's followers in the opposite direction. Mpho Tutu van Furth, the daughter of our always smiling Desmond Tutu has remarried, this time for love, to her wife, Marceline, a Dutch atheist academic in a private civil ceremony in Franchhoek. Mpho was an ordained reverend with the South African Anglican church until they took exception to the fact that she married someone of the same sex, (though apparently not so much to the fact that she is divorced) regardless, I wish Mpho and Marceline many happy years together, may their love shine as an example to others not to allow anyone to stifle who they are.
In other infuriating news, Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini has been accused of spending R11000.00 of government money to stay overnight in a hotel while attending the ANC Kwazulu-Natal manifesto launch. This after she insisted that R753 was sufficient for those receiving social grants. One has to wonder if the Minister remembers what it's like having to live on next to nothing from month to month.
In developing news, Henri van Breda has handed himself over to police after they contacted his attorney to inform them of his imminent arrest, for those who don't know, Henri and his sister were the lone surivors of an attach on his family that made headlines back in January 2015. at the time, Henri claimed he had been attached as well but had managed to lock himself away while the rest of his family was butchered. The state is now saying that Henri's superficial wounds are all indicative of being self inflicted. It's not looking good for the young man but we'll see what other evidence the state provides.
The video for the day comes from Bo Burnham, a brilliant musical comedian who got his start on youtube:
Please remember that I don't own the content for the video, please do also check out Bo's website, the dude is brilliant and funny as all hell: www.boburnham.com.
Thanks for reading everyone, please remember to comment and subscribe and also remember to like the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theangryafricanatheist/
Ta,
G
It never ceases to amaze me how often an institution apparently dedicated to love so often pushes it's followers in the opposite direction. Mpho Tutu van Furth, the daughter of our always smiling Desmond Tutu has remarried, this time for love, to her wife, Marceline, a Dutch atheist academic in a private civil ceremony in Franchhoek. Mpho was an ordained reverend with the South African Anglican church until they took exception to the fact that she married someone of the same sex, (though apparently not so much to the fact that she is divorced) regardless, I wish Mpho and Marceline many happy years together, may their love shine as an example to others not to allow anyone to stifle who they are.
In other infuriating news, Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini has been accused of spending R11000.00 of government money to stay overnight in a hotel while attending the ANC Kwazulu-Natal manifesto launch. This after she insisted that R753 was sufficient for those receiving social grants. One has to wonder if the Minister remembers what it's like having to live on next to nothing from month to month.
In developing news, Henri van Breda has handed himself over to police after they contacted his attorney to inform them of his imminent arrest, for those who don't know, Henri and his sister were the lone surivors of an attach on his family that made headlines back in January 2015. at the time, Henri claimed he had been attached as well but had managed to lock himself away while the rest of his family was butchered. The state is now saying that Henri's superficial wounds are all indicative of being self inflicted. It's not looking good for the young man but we'll see what other evidence the state provides.
The video for the day comes from Bo Burnham, a brilliant musical comedian who got his start on youtube:
Please remember that I don't own the content for the video, please do also check out Bo's website, the dude is brilliant and funny as all hell: www.boburnham.com.
Thanks for reading everyone, please remember to comment and subscribe and also remember to like the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theangryafricanatheist/
Ta,
G
Monday, 13 June 2016
and the piece of shit of the day award goes to...
Evening all,
So to those who haven't been following the news, there was a massive shooting in Orlando, Florida at around 3am on Sunday. A piece of shit (who I will not name purposefully) had taken as a personal insult the sight of a happy couple kissing in front of him and his family a few days earlier. Spurred on by his holy book and imam, he took it upon himself to end the lives of 49 innocent homosexuals. My heart breaks at the thought that innocent people are having to deal with the pain and suffering of losing a loved one in such a terrible manner. Should anyone reading this know of anyone affected, please let them know that they have sympathies and support from as far away as South Africa. Rather than give the piece of shit who committed these heinous crimes any recognition, I've attached a link below to celebrate the lives of those who were senselessly murdered.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-orlando-nightclub-victims-who-they-were-snap-htmlstory.html
In other troubling, (though far less so) news, Penny Sparrow has been ordered by a court of law to pay a fine of R150,000.00 to the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation, whose official mission is to "Impact on the quality of life by consolidating and promoting a value based society" whatever the fuck that means. Now anyone who knows me, or has read previous posts of mine, knows that I think that Penny's conduct was despicable, but I cannot see how it in any way constitutes hate speech and thus is lawful, I have defended the idiot that went on at the white waitress about giving back land under the same banner, freedom of speech. It doesn't end just because I disagree with you.
Lastly I'd like to take this opportunity to highlight an incredible human being, a young man by the name of Shagam Newman. Shagam's living situation is less than ideal, currently homeless, he lives in a two bedroom shack on the slopes of Table Mountain, along with around 10 dogs and more than a few cats. Despite his own desperate situation, Shagam loves animals and spends his days trying to help as many as he can, often manning a trolley outside the local spa asking for donations of dog and cat food. Once he has a full trolley this legend then goes around his local neighborhood and helps anyone that has animals and is short on cash to feed them. He is currently working together with DARG (https://www.facebook.com/DARG.org.za/?fref=nf) so if anyone wants to donate or just offer messages of encouragement, please send them through DARG.
Youtube clip of the day, talented Canadian rapper Baba Brinkman with his song titled "Darwin's Acid":
As usual, I don't own the media, please visit Baba's official page and download his music here: http://www.bababrinkman.com/
Well, that's my piece for today, please remember to comment, subscribe as well as like the facebook page (www.facebook.com/theangryafricanatheist) and remember, the world may be full to the brim with hate and violence, but the only thing that can make a positive change is you.
Ta,
G
So to those who haven't been following the news, there was a massive shooting in Orlando, Florida at around 3am on Sunday. A piece of shit (who I will not name purposefully) had taken as a personal insult the sight of a happy couple kissing in front of him and his family a few days earlier. Spurred on by his holy book and imam, he took it upon himself to end the lives of 49 innocent homosexuals. My heart breaks at the thought that innocent people are having to deal with the pain and suffering of losing a loved one in such a terrible manner. Should anyone reading this know of anyone affected, please let them know that they have sympathies and support from as far away as South Africa. Rather than give the piece of shit who committed these heinous crimes any recognition, I've attached a link below to celebrate the lives of those who were senselessly murdered.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-orlando-nightclub-victims-who-they-were-snap-htmlstory.html
In other troubling, (though far less so) news, Penny Sparrow has been ordered by a court of law to pay a fine of R150,000.00 to the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation, whose official mission is to "Impact on the quality of life by consolidating and promoting a value based society" whatever the fuck that means. Now anyone who knows me, or has read previous posts of mine, knows that I think that Penny's conduct was despicable, but I cannot see how it in any way constitutes hate speech and thus is lawful, I have defended the idiot that went on at the white waitress about giving back land under the same banner, freedom of speech. It doesn't end just because I disagree with you.
Lastly I'd like to take this opportunity to highlight an incredible human being, a young man by the name of Shagam Newman. Shagam's living situation is less than ideal, currently homeless, he lives in a two bedroom shack on the slopes of Table Mountain, along with around 10 dogs and more than a few cats. Despite his own desperate situation, Shagam loves animals and spends his days trying to help as many as he can, often manning a trolley outside the local spa asking for donations of dog and cat food. Once he has a full trolley this legend then goes around his local neighborhood and helps anyone that has animals and is short on cash to feed them. He is currently working together with DARG (https://www.facebook.com/DARG.org.za/?fref=nf) so if anyone wants to donate or just offer messages of encouragement, please send them through DARG.
Youtube clip of the day, talented Canadian rapper Baba Brinkman with his song titled "Darwin's Acid":
As usual, I don't own the media, please visit Baba's official page and download his music here: http://www.bababrinkman.com/
Well, that's my piece for today, please remember to comment, subscribe as well as like the facebook page (www.facebook.com/theangryafricanatheist) and remember, the world may be full to the brim with hate and violence, but the only thing that can make a positive change is you.
Ta,
G
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Nkandla was a bargain! (Let's just be grateful there were minimal protests about it)
Evening all,
Blade Nzimande announced on Wednesday that the price tag associated with the #FeesMustFall protests have reached an astounding R460 million Rand. To put that into perspective, old Jacob could have built two Nkandlas for the same price! Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem with student protests, which have a long history of changing the world for the better, (just look at the protests in the America during the sixties). What I DO have a problem with is the rampant violence and destruction by the protestors. As far as I'm concerned, the idiots that are causing damage should be locked up and made to contribute to the restorations required, a percentage of future earnings to be taken, for the rest of their lives if necessary.
In an update to the Jesus Dome saga, there are reports about scammers creating false social networking adverts to raise money to help rebuild the Dome, something that the church leadership is less than happy about. Apparently the church wants exclusive rights to people's wallets, saying that they never solicit funds using social media, and if anyone wishes to donate money that they should contact the church directly. Not funny when the shoe is on the other foot I suppose, (though one church official was quoted as saying that the scammers should go to their church, perhaps he's wanting to recoup some of their losses?)
This leads me to wonder why government lets itself be scammed by religious institutions, just look at some of the mega churches or some of the bigger mosques, surely if they can afford to build something that has capacity for thousands of people they can afford to be taxed on it? As far as I'm concerned we need to remove "Religion, Belief or Philosophy" from the list of Public benefit activities, I'd love to hear how any of those things are of benefit to the general public.
In good news, the former professional tennis player, Bob Hewitt's appeal against his six-year jail sentence has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeals in Bloemfontein. I will say that the hugely troubling thing about that is the fact that the sick fucker only got 6 years for two counts of rape and one of sexual assault, all on minors. Also troubling was the fact that the judge considered Hewitt's age, health as well as the length that had passed since the crimes were committed when considering sentencing. Personally I feel that none of these things should play any contributing factors when determining the term of a prison sentence. six years for ruining three (that we know about) women's lives? Doos should have had his cock chopped off.
The comedy clip comes from George Carlin again, a brilliant piece from him about the best bullshit story ever, religion:
Please note that the content isn't owned by me, I also figured it might be a good idea to post a link to the official George Carlin homepage:
http://georgecarlin.com/
As always, please feel free to comment, and subscribe. I've also started a facebook page, just follow the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/theangryafricanatheist/
Thanks for reading,
G
Blade Nzimande announced on Wednesday that the price tag associated with the #FeesMustFall protests have reached an astounding R460 million Rand. To put that into perspective, old Jacob could have built two Nkandlas for the same price! Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem with student protests, which have a long history of changing the world for the better, (just look at the protests in the America during the sixties). What I DO have a problem with is the rampant violence and destruction by the protestors. As far as I'm concerned, the idiots that are causing damage should be locked up and made to contribute to the restorations required, a percentage of future earnings to be taken, for the rest of their lives if necessary.
In an update to the Jesus Dome saga, there are reports about scammers creating false social networking adverts to raise money to help rebuild the Dome, something that the church leadership is less than happy about. Apparently the church wants exclusive rights to people's wallets, saying that they never solicit funds using social media, and if anyone wishes to donate money that they should contact the church directly. Not funny when the shoe is on the other foot I suppose, (though one church official was quoted as saying that the scammers should go to their church, perhaps he's wanting to recoup some of their losses?)
This leads me to wonder why government lets itself be scammed by religious institutions, just look at some of the mega churches or some of the bigger mosques, surely if they can afford to build something that has capacity for thousands of people they can afford to be taxed on it? As far as I'm concerned we need to remove "Religion, Belief or Philosophy" from the list of Public benefit activities, I'd love to hear how any of those things are of benefit to the general public.
In good news, the former professional tennis player, Bob Hewitt's appeal against his six-year jail sentence has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeals in Bloemfontein. I will say that the hugely troubling thing about that is the fact that the sick fucker only got 6 years for two counts of rape and one of sexual assault, all on minors. Also troubling was the fact that the judge considered Hewitt's age, health as well as the length that had passed since the crimes were committed when considering sentencing. Personally I feel that none of these things should play any contributing factors when determining the term of a prison sentence. six years for ruining three (that we know about) women's lives? Doos should have had his cock chopped off.
The comedy clip comes from George Carlin again, a brilliant piece from him about the best bullshit story ever, religion:
Please note that the content isn't owned by me, I also figured it might be a good idea to post a link to the official George Carlin homepage:
http://georgecarlin.com/
As always, please feel free to comment, and subscribe. I've also started a facebook page, just follow the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/theangryafricanatheist/
Thanks for reading,
G
Wednesday, 8 June 2016
RIP Muhammed
Evening all,
So, the first thing I want to talk about is the fact that a giant among men died on Saturday. I must stress that whilst I can certainly appreciate Muhammad Ali's athleticism, I am by no stretch of the imagination a boxing, (or general sports for that matter) fan, over and above his sporting prowess, I do not particularly agree with his view on life. I find islam to be a vile religion, made more so by the number of adherents who actually believe the entirety of it (in stark contrast to the more moderate christians who don't seem to be a fan of stoning rape victims). Moreover, I am not by any stretch of the imagination a pacifist. Pacifism is a wonderful concept that, much like communism, only works when everybody buys into it. What I do admire about the man was his courage and determination to stand for his beliefs no matter the personal consequences. In light of that my thoughts go out to his family, I only wish that there was something concrete that I could do to help you through this sad time.
On lighter (haha) news, was the fact that the Jesus Dome in Durban burnt down last night. No doubt part of god's plan to convince the world of his existence and divinity before the rapture. It always amazes me how easy it is for the religious to give god the glory when a surgeon slaves for 16 hours to save their life but when it all goes wrong it's suddenly all a part of his divine plan. On the note of divine plans, if god has a plan, what's the point of praying? I mean, I get the idea in terms of maintaining a relationship with him, but put yourself in god's shoes for a second. You've been planning every single persons destiny, quite literally forever, when some guy pops on his knees and prays, asking that you save his dying mother. What if that wasn't in your plan? What's the point of being god if any twit with a R20 prayer book can fuck your plans up?
On to news that makes my blood boil, a man in Greeneville, Tennessee has been sentenced to life in prison for SELLING HIS THREE DAUGHTERS TO A PEDOPHILE! Now there is little in this world that makes me think that simply erasing an entire group of people from this planet would be a good idea, though pedophiles that act on their impulses are definitely high up on the list. Now I've worded the previous sentence specifically for a reason, the word pedophile is defined as a person who is sexually attracted to children. I find the idea nauseating to say the least but simple sexual attraction cannot and should not be considered a crime, quite frankly what you think about while tugging the one eyed snake or flicking the bean is your business. What is rightfully a crime is the act of pedophilia. I would suggest that the answer to this scourge is not only stronger sentences (the death penalty would be a good start here), but also help for pedophiles that are struggling to control their urges, more support from governments would see far fewer offenses and increase control over people known to have the problem.
The relevant comedy of the day comes from legend George Carlin with his musings regarding prayer:
As always, I in no way own any of the above material and if you've not seen any of his stuff before, I urge you to do yourself a favor and watch more, the man really was a true legend.
And that's tonight's blog, if you enjoyed (or didn't) any of what I've posted, please feel free to comment and as always, please subscribe.
Ta,
G
So, the first thing I want to talk about is the fact that a giant among men died on Saturday. I must stress that whilst I can certainly appreciate Muhammad Ali's athleticism, I am by no stretch of the imagination a boxing, (or general sports for that matter) fan, over and above his sporting prowess, I do not particularly agree with his view on life. I find islam to be a vile religion, made more so by the number of adherents who actually believe the entirety of it (in stark contrast to the more moderate christians who don't seem to be a fan of stoning rape victims). Moreover, I am not by any stretch of the imagination a pacifist. Pacifism is a wonderful concept that, much like communism, only works when everybody buys into it. What I do admire about the man was his courage and determination to stand for his beliefs no matter the personal consequences. In light of that my thoughts go out to his family, I only wish that there was something concrete that I could do to help you through this sad time.
On lighter (haha) news, was the fact that the Jesus Dome in Durban burnt down last night. No doubt part of god's plan to convince the world of his existence and divinity before the rapture. It always amazes me how easy it is for the religious to give god the glory when a surgeon slaves for 16 hours to save their life but when it all goes wrong it's suddenly all a part of his divine plan. On the note of divine plans, if god has a plan, what's the point of praying? I mean, I get the idea in terms of maintaining a relationship with him, but put yourself in god's shoes for a second. You've been planning every single persons destiny, quite literally forever, when some guy pops on his knees and prays, asking that you save his dying mother. What if that wasn't in your plan? What's the point of being god if any twit with a R20 prayer book can fuck your plans up?
On to news that makes my blood boil, a man in Greeneville, Tennessee has been sentenced to life in prison for SELLING HIS THREE DAUGHTERS TO A PEDOPHILE! Now there is little in this world that makes me think that simply erasing an entire group of people from this planet would be a good idea, though pedophiles that act on their impulses are definitely high up on the list. Now I've worded the previous sentence specifically for a reason, the word pedophile is defined as a person who is sexually attracted to children. I find the idea nauseating to say the least but simple sexual attraction cannot and should not be considered a crime, quite frankly what you think about while tugging the one eyed snake or flicking the bean is your business. What is rightfully a crime is the act of pedophilia. I would suggest that the answer to this scourge is not only stronger sentences (the death penalty would be a good start here), but also help for pedophiles that are struggling to control their urges, more support from governments would see far fewer offenses and increase control over people known to have the problem.
The relevant comedy of the day comes from legend George Carlin with his musings regarding prayer:
As always, I in no way own any of the above material and if you've not seen any of his stuff before, I urge you to do yourself a favor and watch more, the man really was a true legend.
And that's tonight's blog, if you enjoyed (or didn't) any of what I've posted, please feel free to comment and as always, please subscribe.
Ta,
G
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