Dan Roodt, Author at praag.co.za

Die grootste Afrikanertaak ooit

Die jongste misdaadstatistiek het ’n hele paar dinge verklap. En mens moet ’n bietjie huiswerk gaan doen wanneer jy met sulke blatante leuens te doen kry. Dít bring mens nader aan die ware probleem, wat jou weer ’n tree nader aan die antwoord bring, die antwoord wat die grootste taak vir Afrikaners in ons Afrikanergeskiedenis gaan meebring.

Jackie Selebi, nasionale polisiehoof, sê dat misdaad hom nie slapelose nagte besorg nie en Charles Nqakula, minister van onveiligheid, reken dat misdaadvlakke in die land daal, terwyl Thabo Mbeki misdaad as ’n persepsie afmaak. Met sulke sieninge is dit blykbaar net die naasbestaandes van die derduisende slagoffers van misdaad wat hallusineer, asook so ’n paar regdenkendes…

As ons dalk dink dat hierdie misleidende statistiek aan ons voorgehou word omdat die ANC hierdie keer nie sommetjies kán maak nie, sit ons die pot ver mis. Hulle berekeninge is lank gelede met deurdagtheid gedoen en hulle somtotaal is honderd persent in die kol. Vir hulle is die enigste antwoord: “People, get ready, there’s a war a’coming . . . the last white dog must die!” En hulle glo ook dat die doel die middele heilig, dus kan hulle nie verkeerd wees deur toe te laat dat diefstal, moord en verkragting alles regverdig in hulle oorlog vir “black Africa!” nie. Waarom dan nie nog lieg ook daaroor nie?

Kom ons kyk waarop baseer Selebi en sy meelopers die sukses van hulle leuens wat hulle so vryelik opdis: Eerstens, volgens direkte getuienis van sommige blanke polisielede, is hulle distrikte se polisiemanne aangesê om nooit ’n “dubbel-inskrywing” oor misdaad te maak nie, dws wanneer daar byvoorbeeld ’n transito-rooftog plaasvind, word die dodesyfer daarvan, indien enige, nie in die moordkolom ook aangeteken nie. So word al die statistiek hanteer. Dus het ons nie ’n benul van die ware moordsyfer of van die ander misdaadstatistiek nie.

Tweedens kan u maar die internet deurkruis sonder dat u ’n weergawe sal vind van die ware misdaadstatistiek vóór 1994. Al wat u sal sien, is statistiek van die gekookte weergawe vanaf 1994-1995 toe die ANC die “moorddadige land” geërf het van die vorige bestel, met ongeveer 26 000 moorde nog in daardie jaar, wat die ANC natuurlik deur hul voortreflike bestuursvernuf nou afgebring het na net oor die 19 000 moorde in 2006-2007… En die ergste is, mense glo hierdie leuens! Selfs nie eers met die ANC se terreurdade daardie tyd binne Suid-Afrika ingereken, kon die moordsyfer so hoog wees nie. En so kan dit ook nou nie net 19 000 wees nie want volgens kenners se beraming word tot een derde van alle misdaad veral onder die ANC-bestel, nie eers aangemeld nie; en so is daar ook te veel individuele getuienis oor misdaad wat nooit aangemeld is nie. Maar, gee die ANC wat hom toekom, hy kán somme maak!

Selebi roem hom op die feit dat misdaad in heelwat van die statistiekafdelings gedaal het, maar hy verstaan nie dat almal nie gebluf word deur sy woordspeletjies nie. Sou hy dalk verstaan as ons aan hom verduidelik dat die moordsyfer op sy polisiemanne so gestyg het omdat daar nie meer ontsag vir ’n polisieman is soos vroeër nie, en daarom die daling in gewone aanvalle op polisiemanne? En sou hy verstaan as ons aan hom verduidelik dat die getal verkragtings gedaal het omdat die verkragter sy slagoffer deesdae eerder vermoor as om ’n getuie na te laat want hy word tog nie gestraf nie? Vandaar die hoër moordsyfer! En sou Selebi verstaan as ons aan hom verduidelik dat die aantal gewone huisinbrake verminder het omdat dit nou veel makliker is om gewapende roof te pleeg wanneer mense by hulle huise is, aangesien die patetiese regstelsel tog geen gevaar vir die moordenaar inhou nie? Daarom die 25% styging die afgelope jaar in gewapende rooftogte by huise en die hoër moordsyfer!

Dan kom Nqakula en hy vra: “Wat doen jý teen misdaad”. En dit is nou hier waar ons begryp dat hy nie die vorige sommetjies help maak het nie, maar iemand ver bokant hom… dat hy maar net ’n spreekbuis in die aanloop tot die eindtotaal van hierdie som is. Genadiglik begin van ons mense se rekenaartjies nou werk, en hulle antwoord Nqakula in die media soos volg: “Duur elektriese omheining”, “Wapens” “Selfone in verbinding met bure”. “Motors met beveiliging”, “Ekstra versekering ten duurste”, “Vermy sekere skole”, “Beplan elke roete wat gery moet word”, “Nie meer in die aand uitgaan nie”, “Neem kinders skooltoe want tot fietse word gekaap”, “Is wetsgehoorsame burgers”, “Werk hard vir my geld”, “Respekteer ander mense en hulle eiendom”, “Respekteer padreëls”, “Betaal ektra hoë belasting”, “Betaal u salaris”, ens, ens.

En dan kom ook hulle vrae aan Nqakula wat dui op enerse gevoelens van genoeg is genoeg: “Moet ons ons werk bedank en joune kom doen?”, “Hanteer jy die portefeulje Veiligheid of moet ons?”, “As u nie die ‘joppie’ kan doen nie, waarom weier u nie?”, “Moet ons dít ook nog vir die regering doen?”, “Wat doen JY met my belastinggeld!?”, “Ek betaal belasting, en JY, ons geagte minister???”, “Het u nie u posomskrywing gelees nie of nie verstaan nie?”, “Ons wonder waarom jy ’n salaris kry en of ons nie iets dááraan moet doen nie!?”, “Wat moet ’n bereidwillige landsburger nóg doen om sy bydrae te lewer!?”, ens, ens.

Daar is nou genoeg oor die probleem gesê. Die antwoord op die probleem is egter nie so eenvoudig nie, maar ons weet uit ons geskiedenis wat vir ons in ons toekoms voorlê, en daarvolgens durf ons sekere feite konstateer. Die eerste is dat ons sal besef dat dit ons niks sal help om te onderhandel met die ANC oor hierdie gemors waarin ons verkeer nie – nie eers om Nqakula se bedanking te eis nie want swart mense verstaan nie daardie ere-kultuur nie, en dit sal ook niks aan die toestand verander.

As onderhandeling dan geen opsie is nie, kan die antwoord tog net lê in geloof oor wat ons te doen staan, en wanneer dáárdie antwoord duidelik geword het, sal ons besef dat ons hierdie land sal moet terugneem op die regte tyd, met al die genade en wysheid tot ons beskikking. Die geleentheid is besig om geskep te word vir ons deur die groot chaos wat gaan volg op voortslepende stakings en die leierstryd in die ANC. Moet vir geen oomblik dink dat hierdie chaos self gaan verdwyn en ons weer in ’n utopie gaan woon nie; dis Afrika hierdie, en ons moet hierdie geleentheid reg benut.

Daar wag binnekort ’n taak op die Afrikaner wat meer deursettings- en uithouvermoë sal verg as wat die meeste van ons nog ooit aan onderwerp was. Is ons fisies en geestelik gereed daarvoor?

free money for slots прокурор Фильчаков

Wil die ANC boer ?n rugby speel?

Sedert die ANC die bewind in 1994 oorgeneem het, het hulle elke denkbare instelling waarop hulle hul hande kon lê, finansieel geplunder. Die maklikste teiken was die ongeveer 27 beheerrade wat ingestel is ingevolge die bepalings van die Bemarkingswet. Die rade is bloot afgeskaf en die geboue wat die beheerrade opgerig het, is eenvoudig gestroop, daarna óf verkoop óf vir die ANC se doeleindes aangewend.

Elke beheerraad het oor aansienlike fondse beskik; die stabilisasiefonds van die mielieraad het byvoorbeeld op miljoene rande te staan gekom. So ook die koring-, suiwel- en al die ander rade. Die ANC het dit gedoen onder die voorwendsel dat hul landboubeleid op vraag en aanbod gegrond is en dat geen beheer gevolglik nodig is nie. Daar was sodoende geen beplanning of reserwefondse om in die geval van ‘n krisis soos ‘n droogte of oorstromings en dies meer, ten behoewe van die boere aan te wend nie.

In ‘n soortgelyke proses is die Land- en Landboubank leeg geplunder. Die blanke landbouers kon na die plundering geen hulp en geen voordele verkry nie; hulle is eenvoudig vir die wolwe gegooi. En toe het moordbendes boonop die boere begin uitmoor. Maar die punt is, die beheerrade se bates wat hoofsaaklik bestaan het uit die heffings wat van produsente gevorder is, het in die hande van die ANC-plunderaars verdwyn. Terloops kan gemeld word dat Thabo Mbeki voor 1994 by geleentheid aan my persoonlik verklaar het dat swartmense nie kan boer nie en dat hulle nooit sal leer om te boer nie. Só bring die teeplantasies in Magoebaskloof en die sitrusplaas te Zebediela pynlike herinnerings na vore. Die afleiding is onteenseglik, dat net soos Mbeki gesê het, hulle nog kon nooit boer nie; erger nog, hulle sal nooit leer om te boer nie.

Die volgende reeks slagoffers was die plaaslike owerhede, asook die streekdiensterade. Die streekdiensterade het verdwyn nadat hulle dolleeg gesteel en geplunder is onder die bedenklikste voorwendsels dat daar ondersoeke oorsee ingestel moes word of dat werkswinkels (met baie kos en drank) gehou moet word; nadat baie nuwe motorvoertuie vir amptenare aangekoop moes word, ensovoorts, ensovoorts. Elke munisipaliteit wat nog funksioneer, word nog steeds beroof en dit duur voort omdat munisipaliteite gedienstige melkkoeie is wat deurlopend deur blanke inwoners ge-“voer” word.

Ander instellings wat daarenteen vir ‘n wyle die plunderaanslae tot groot hoogte vrygespring het, is sommige sportinstellings. Die tennisfederasie het slegs ‘n uiters kort tydjie oorlewe nadat swart rowershande daarop losgelaat is. Dit was nie so eenvoudig vir Donker Afrika om die rugby te kaap nie – dit het ‘n tydjie geduur maar hulle was vasbeslote om regstellende aksie ook in rugbygeledere toe te pas en toe dit nie anders kon nie, is die hele wetgewende gesag van die agbare minister Stofile ingeroep en het hy met behulp van die nodige wetgewing ingegryp.

Die Suid-Afrikaanse rugby, soos ons dit geken het, is nou in sy laaste stuiptrekkings. Daar is egter geen manier waarop regstellende aksie ooreenkomstig die bevolkingsamestelling bewerkstellig kan word tot behoud van die spel nie. Dit is egter te betwyfel of dit werklik die doelstelling is. Dit is veel eerder ‘n geval om hul hande te lê op die miljoene rande wat hier te aas is. Die aansienlike fondse wat tot beskikking van die rugby-administrateurs is, sal soos ‘n groen koringland voor ‘n swerm sprinkane opgeslurp word. Hulle wil nie werklik rugby speel nie, hulle wil die geld hê. Té heerlik vir woorde. Maar dit is nie al nie. Bloot om die blankes te krenk, moet daar weggedoen word met die Springbokembleem. Maar dit kan ‘n bedekte seën wees; die Afrikaner Volkseie Sport (AVS) van meneer Daan Nolte kan dit dalk erf. Die Springbokembleem kan soos ‘n ryp appel in die AVS se skoot val.

Die vraag wat hierbo in die opskrif gestel is, kan op ondubbelsinnige wyse beantwoord word dat die ANC nie wil boer nie en hulle wil ook nie rugby speel nie. Die ou geldjies wat daar te aas is, is egter baie welkom.

Nou kan ‘n mens raai hoe veilig die lottogeld nog is. ‘n Mens sidder om te dink hoe veilig die brandstoffonds is wat deur ANC-manne bedryf word. Die lotto hoef nie weer te herleef nie maar die brandstoffonds moet egter met arendsoë dopgehou word.

Onthou, ons is elke dag een dag nader aan ons eie land.

www free games co uk Фильчаков

Kremlin flexes and a tycoon reels

Last January, Mikhail D. Prokhorov, a 42-year-old Russian mining tycoon and a multibillionaire, celebrated the holidays in singular style: with dozens of business associates and an entourage of young Russian women at the exclusive ski resort of Courchevel in the French Alps. The vacation, the French police would later say, featured a private concert by Zveri (the Beasts), a popular Moscow rock group, as well as wads of cash left lying around hotel rooms.

Mr. Prokhorov — tall, svelte, intense and often called Russia’s most eligible bachelor — usually unwound at such blowouts and he once told an interviewer that partying embodied his personal philosophy. His antics in Courchevel, where the police detained him for four days on suspicion of making prostitutes available to his guests, even drew the attention of Nicolas Sarkozy, then the interior minister and now the president of France, who quipped to journalists: “There’s a man who aims to please.” (French police released Mr. Prokhorov without charges but identified him as a witness in their investigation.)

Pleasing friends is one thing. Pleasing Vladimir V. Putin, Russia’s president, is quite another. In one of the more bizarre cases of an apparently forced sale of Russian assets, Mr. Prokhorov’s festivities in Courchevel led — as the byzantine channels of power and wealth in Moscow so often do these days — to his agreement to sell his 26 percent stake in Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest nickel producer. The buyer was Vladimir O. Potanin, his longtime business partner and a favorite of the Kremlin.

Mr. Prokhorov and Mr. Potanin bought a controlling stake in Norilsk, named for the hardscrabble Siberian city where it is located, for a scant $250 million during the hotly contested privatization of state-owned companies in the mid-1990s. Today, Norilsk produces one-fifth of the world’s nickel, a key alloy in stainless steel, and has a market capitalization of $31.9 billion; its profits doubled last year, to $6 billion, buoyed by high demand for steel in China. Awash in cash, Norilsk in late June closed a deal to buy the Canadian mining company LionOre for $6.4 billion and already owns a controlling interest in the Clearwater Mining Company in Montana.

In an interview on state television, Mr. Potanin said he ended his partnership with Mr. Prokhorov, who Forbes magazine estimates has a net worth of $13.5 billion, because of the embarrassing arrest. They have yet to complete the deal, but the partners said they would unwind their businesses before year-end, leaving Mr. Potanin in control of Norilsk. And who, ask some analysts in Moscow, controls Mr. Potanin?

“In Russia today, no serious deal can be made without approval from the Kremlin,” said Irina Y. Yasina, a researcher at the Institute for the Economy in Transition, a research group led by a former prime minister, Yegor T. Gaidar. “A person like Potanin, without the agreement of the Kremlin, can do nothing.”

Under Mr. Putin, the Russian government is establishing vast, state-owned holding companies in automobile and aircraft manufacturing, shipbuilding, nuclear power, diamonds, titanium and other industries. His economic model is sometimes compared with the state-owned, “national champion” industries in France under Charles de Gaulle in the 1950s. The policy of forcing owners of strategic assets to sell their holdings has also been compared to recent nationalizations in Venezuela and other Latin American nations.

Rather than expropriating assets outright, Mr. Putin’s government has exploited minor legal infractions at the target companies to force sales. Either government-controlled companies, or companies run by men seen as loyal to Mr. Putin’s Kremlin, are the beneficiaries.

In 2003, for example, prosecutors went after Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, chairman of Yukos Oil, then Russia’s largest private company, on accusations of tax evasion. Mr. Khodorkovsky was sent to a Siberian prison, and Yukos went bankrupt. The state company Rosneft later acquired most of Yukos’s assets. Last fall, it was environmental infractions in pipeline construction that forced Royal Dutch Shell and Japanese partners to sell a controlling stake in their $22 billion Sakhalin II oil and gas development to Gazprom, the state gas monopoly.

Then, this June, BP’s local joint venture, TNK-BP, sold its share of a huge gas development after regulators threatened to revoke the license because the field was developed too slowly, which was a technical violation of the terms of TNK-BP’s license. Gazprom, again, was the beneficiary.

Coincidentally, Mr. Prokhorov and Mr. Potanin own a minority stake in that same BP gas field. Their 26 percent stake was not touched, perhaps because of Mr. Potanin’s close ties to Mr. Putin. But in the case of Norilsk, Mr. Prokhorov’s arrest, analysts say, seems to have been a fortuitous accident that gave the Kremlin cover for exerting more control over this strategic metals company.

Mr. Prokhorov and Mr. Potanin both declined to be interviewed. But the end of their partnership is yet another milestone in how the Kremlin and a class of ambitious, enormously wealthy Russian businessmen known as oligarchs do business together.

“Property rights are very conditional in Russia, to this day,” said Olga V. Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences who studies Russia’s business and political elite. The government lets big industrialists “exist only under conditions it considers acceptable,” she said, adding: “When the Kremlin considers a capitalist such as Prokhorov no longer acceptable, he is deprived of his property, by one means or another. Private business exists only by the grace of the state.”

In Norilsk itself, a dirty, desolate city 1,900 miles northeast of Moscow, Mr. Prokhorov’s extravagant lifestyle raised hackles. The city began as a slave labor camp for political prisoners and common criminals in the 1930s, expanding quickly in the 1940s with an influx of prisoners of war. The town’s name, like perhaps no other place in Siberia, is evocative of hardship and the gulag.

солидолонагнетатели

What planet do they live on?

As Madonna bounds on to the huge Wembley stage to save the planet, how the assembled Greenies will cheer.

The superstar is today fronting the massive Live Earth event, with nine concerts played over 24 hours across seven continents before an audience of two billion.

The much-hyped bid to save the world is being masterminded by former U.S. vice president Al Gore – who helped focus attention on the environmental movement with his Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth – and features artists including The Police, Red Hot Chili Peppers, UB40 and Metallica.

No doubt to rapturous applause, Madonna will call for mass global change to reduce carbon emissions and to tackle ‘climate crisis’.

Watching the veteran star lap up the adoration, her entourage could, however, be forgiven for exchanging slightly jaded glances – having witnessed her jet in for the concert from New York.

For her 2006 World Tour, she flew by private jet, transporting a team of up to 100 technicians and dancers around the globe. Waiting in the garage at home, she has a Mercedes Maybach, two Range Rovers, an Audi A8 and a Mini Cooper S.

Indeed, Madonna’s carbon footprint is dwarfed only by her ego – she has vowed that she will ‘speak to the planet’ at Wembley. In fact, an apology might be in order – for the superstar’s energy consumption is only the tip of the iceberg in this epic vanity-fest.

The Live Earth event is, in the words of one commentator: "a massive, hypocritical fraud".

For while the organisers’ commitment to save the planet is genuine, the very process of putting on such a vast event, with more than 150 performers jetting around the world to appear in concerts from Tokyo to Hamburg, is surely an exercise in hypocrisy on a grand scale.

Matt Bellamy, front man of the rock band Muse, has dubbed it ‘private jets for climate change’.

A Daily Mail investigation has revealed that far from saving the planet, the extravaganza will generate a huge fuel bill, acres of garbage, thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions, and a mileage total equal to the movement of an army.

The most conservative assessment of the flights being taken by its superstars is that they are flying an extraordinary 222,623.63 miles between them to get to the various concerts – nearly nine times the circumference of the world. The true environmental cost, as they transport their technicians, dancers and support staff, is likely to be far higher.

The total carbon footprint of the event, taking into account the artists’ and spectators’ travel to the concert, and the energy consumption on the day, is likely to be at least 31,500 tonnes of carbon emissions, according to John Buckley of Carbonfootprint.com, who specialises in such calculations.

Throw in the television audience and it comes to a staggering 74,500 tonnes. In comparison, the average Briton produces ten tonnes in a year.

The concert will also generate some 1,025 tonnes of waste at the concert stadiums – much of which will go directly into landfill sites.

Moreover, the pop stars headlining the concerts are the absolute antithesis of the message they promote – with Madonna leading the pack of the worst individual rock star polluters in the world.

Sepermodel Kate Moss, another profligate polluter through her use of private jets, is producing a T-shirt for the event. Yet, Gore is touting the concerts as ‘carbon neutral’. So how can that be?

Let us start with some facts. Worldwide, an audience of around 1,268,500 is expected to attend the concerts – making it one of the largest global events in history.

Dr Andrea Collins, an expert in sustainability from Cardiff University, has researched the impact of such mass gatherings on the environment.

"An event of this size at Wembley – which holds 65,000 at a rock concert, will generate around 59 tonnes of waste," she says. "That is largely composed of the rubbish from food and drink consumption."

She found that a Wembley-sized football match generated an ‘ecological footprint’ of 3,000 global hectares – an area the size of 4,166 football pitches. This is the amount of bioproductive land required to absorb the C02 emissions produced by such an event.

The concert organisers are preaching carbon neutrality – but isn’t that just a guilt-free excuse?

Dr Collins estimates that the global audience for Live Earth will generate some 1,025 tonnes of waste. An extraordinary one million people are expected at the free concert at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, featuring Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray and Pharrell Williams.

Other venues including the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg – where Joss Stone is performing – will cater for audiences of tens of thousands.

Live Earth say that they will recycle much of the waste generated. Fine talk, but in fact some of the concert venues are struggling to keep up with their commitments.

A spokesman for Wembley says they only have the capacity to recycle around a third of waste produced – the rest will go into landfill sites.

Travel forms the vast majority of the ‘carbon footprint’ talked of by ecological campaigners – contributing up to 90 per cent of the environmental ‘cost’.

Collins says: "It is patently absurd to claim that travel of this nature doesn’t have an impact. Each person attending the event will have to make a return journey to the venue, be it by air, rail, bus or car. This burns fossil fuel – precisely what we are trying to reduce.

"There is also the environmental cost of these artists flying around the world – that is absolutely huge."

Indeed, an audit of the lifestyles of the A-list performers appearing at Live Earth, reveals that they are among the worst individual polluters in the world, as their world tours and private jets billow thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. One hour in a Gulfstream jet burns as much fuel as driving a family car for a year.

The Daily Mail has found that five of the top performing acts together have an annual output of almost 2,000 carbon tonnes. Madonna alone has an annual carbon footprint of 1,018 tonnes, according to John Buckley.

Remember, the average Briton produces just ten tonnes.

The veteran pop singer’s Confessions tour last year produced 440 tonnes of carbon pollution in just four months, simply in flights between venues. This does not include the trucks required to transport equipment, the power needed to stage each show, or the transport for fans travelling to each concert.

Rock group Genesis re-formed last year and are in the middle of their European tour. The three-man band will fit their Live Earth performance into a tour of at least 47 locations across the world. Their carbon footprint last year totalled 195 tonnes.

James Blunt, another Wembley performer, completed his world tour of the U.S. last year, racking up a carbon footprint of 195 tonnes.

American band Red Hot Chili Peppers have, like Madonna, flown in to Wembley from the U.S.. They have produced 220 tonnes of carbon dioxide with their private jet alone over the last six months.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail has learnt that Bon Jovi left the UK this week to travel back by private jet to the U.S. to perform at the New York stadium for the American leg of Live Earth.

Music impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ex-wife Sarah Brightman is being flown out to sing at the Shanghai concert in China. This is a distance of 5,679.95 miles, producing one tonne of carbon dioxide pollution.

Two other acts have already been criticised for being paid to promote fuel-guzzling cars. John Legend is featured in a Lexus advert, while Sheryl Crow’s hit Everyday Is A Winding Road is used to sell Subaru 4WDs.

Plans for concert organiser Al Gore to appear at the event in both Britain and America on the same day were scuppered due to fears of the backlash it would cause

Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell has been criticised for urging people to drive electric eco-scooters – but buying a 1,000cc Moto Guzzi bike – described as ‘a monster-revving beast’.

Such is the level of disquiet felt about Live Earth in New Zealand, that a pressure group called the Climaction Coalition, is urging people to protest against it on July 7. Radiohead, who are pioneers in eco-friendly performing, have refused to appear. Of course, Live Earth is doing its utmost to ensure the event is ‘green’ in appearance at least – stars will be ferried between the stage and dressing room by energy-efficient Smart Cars and biodiesel fuelled Mercedes.

A proposal for Gore to appear at concerts in Britain and America on the same day – something that Phil Collins, the Genesis drummer and singer, was able to do at the original Live Aid in 1985, courtesy of Concorde – has been dropped because of the anger that the ‘gas-guzzling’ flight would provoke.

Andrea Robinson, Live Earth’s green manager, says her message to celebrities is: "Leave the Learjet at home – fly commercial."

Wembley Stadium will be lit using low energy fluorescent lightbulbs, while the backdrop is composed of recycled tyres and oil drums. The organisers tried to introduce re-usable cups for interval refreshments, but found that – like many green strategies – this was not practical on such a huge scale.

Some bio-produced plastic, made from corn, will be used, and artists’ changing rooms will be fitted with energy-saving lightbulbs – all rather a drop in the ocean compared to the pollution generated by fans traveling across the UK to the concert or using the stadium’s 2,618 toilets. Plans to ask the British public to turn off their electrical appliances during the Live Earth broadcast were scuppered when the National Grid pointed out that as everyone switched on again, a giant power surge could cripple the country.

Some stadiums are greener than others. The Aussie Stadium in Sydney will run the event on 100 per cent green energy supply. Each Australian Live Earth ticket comes with a free public transport voucher, while all the bathrooms will be waterless with waste being composted into fertiliser.

Conversely, in New York’s Giants Stadium, trade unions have blocked Live Earth’s attempts to recycle, and the 52,000-seater arena is not situated near public transport. The smallest – and least polluting – concert will be held at the British Antarctic Survey’s base in Rothera.

Bizarrely, the concerts are also being ‘independently audited’ by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers over the next seven weeks, to assess the level of pollution they will have generated.

It is unclear what benefit this exercise will have, although the Live Earth organisers talk in terms of providing a ‘legacy’ for future events, showing how recycling and low-impact travel can be encouraged, and carbon-offsetting used. But the fact remains – massive rock concerts are hardly eco-friendly.

So just how does Gore claim that Live Earth will be carbon neutral? He does so by convenient use of ‘carbon offsetting’ – a trendy new method of absolving yourself of guilt.

Carbon offsetting involves ‘neutralising’ the emissions you are responsible for by buying ‘credits’.

A spokesperson for Live Earth says: "This might involve buying environmentally sound lightbulbs for a Third World school, planting trees, or installing solar panels in a developing country."

A huge industry has sprung up to provide corporations with carbon credits.

However, critics say that the practice is simply a way for consumerist industries and nations to export their responsibility to developing countries. Others say it simply does not work.

Carbon-offsetting is, it turns out, how celebrities square green issues with their extravagant lifestyles and use of private jets.

Jon Bon Jovi has said: "We wrote a cheque, we took care of our footprint and raised awareness, blah blah blah."

When Gore – who himself spent eight years flying on Air Force Two – was asked if he had persuaded Madonna to stop using private jets, he said: ‘Well, I appreciate and respect her as an artist and as a person, and there are many artists who are offsetting their role in contributing to the CO2 build-up, and I understand that.’ A rather longwinded way of saying ‘no’.

Madonna has, however, been given an instruction handbook on climate crisis by Live Earth.

John Rego, the environmental director of Live Earth, says he expects to purchase at least 3,000 tonnes of carbon credits to off-set the event. It is believed the organisers will spend in excess of £1million on carbon offsetting to counter criticism.

Rego explains: "All the events are carbon neutral. We have chosen a reforestation and reagricultural project in Mozambique. It is a credible certifiable carbon-diffused project. We are in the process of purchasing a carbon offset."

Dr Collins says: "Taking a flight and planting a tree does not add up. It does not make it all right. It is having your cake and eating it."

Dr John Barrett, from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, says: "There is a huge irony in flying halfway across the globe in a private jet, eating up fossil fuel.

"The idea that you can offset the pollution you cause is just ridiculous. What these people at Live Earth have done is defined their boundaries to suit themselves, but there is no sense in which this concert is carbon neutral.

"Planting trees or investing in renewable energy does not reverse the damage of releasing huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the environment.

"It is far better not to pollute in the first place. Carbon offsetting can be a removal of guilt, but it is not an effective one."

Live Earth is encouraging ‘citizens of the world’ to take small steps: share a car, plant a shrub, turn off a light or hang out washing rather than use a dryer.

But Dr Barrett says: "It would be far better for these celebrities to stay at home. Holding large concerts to highlight environmental concerns and cut carbon emissions just seems ridiculous. What planet do these people live on?"

печь для сауны

‘n Soet smaak sonder gelyke

Groen goud

‘n Soet smaak sonder gelyke. Dit is die verrassende kenmerk van ‘n eeue-oue plantjie wat bekend staan as "soet gras" uit Paraguay. Dié groen blaartjies kan suiker in die skadu stel en sorg vir ‘n voedselrewolusie.

‘n Indiaanse stam, die Guaranis, doop die blare al honderde jare lank in hul drankies vir geur. Vandag is dit reuse uit die voedselbedryf wat belangstel in die groen goud wat driehonderd keer soeter is as suiker, sonder ‘n enkele kalorie!

Die Amerikaanse groep Cargill, een van die grootste voedselvoorsieners op die planeet, en Coca Cola, koning van soet koeldranke, het onlangs as vennote toegetree om ‘n versoeter te vervaardig wat die stevia rebaudiana bertoni, die botaniese beskrywing vir die plant, as basis gebruik.

"Die aankondiging van Coca Cola het ‘n reusagtige belangstelling wakker gemaak," sê Nelson Gonzalez, hoof van die "Kamer vir Stevia". Die Kamer is opgerig om al die produsente onder die beskerming van die Paraguaanse minister van Industrie en Handel te bring.

Die mark, wat reeds in Suid-Amerika (Brasilië, Argentinië, Ecuador) en in Asië (China, Japan, Korea) ontwikkel is, het die VSA en Europa nog nie bereik nie. Alhoewel stevia as ‘n voedsel- en kosmetiese bestanddeel wettig is, word daar gewag dat wetenskaplikes hul finale mening oor die produk gee.

"Die wêreldwye aanvraag is geweldig. Maar suikerprodusente gaan probeer om die invoer van hierdie rewolusionêre produk, sonder gesondheidsrisiko’s, te verhoed," sê Gonzalez. Die gevare waarna hy verwys, is die onlangse studies wat die chemiese versoeter aspartaam as ‘n karsinogeen aandui.

Die Fakulteit van Geneeskunde aan die Universiteit van Asuncion het ‘n lang lys van die voordele mbv navorsing saamgestel. Stevia is nie net ‘n anti-oksidant nie, maar het ook anti-inflammatoriese en anti-bakteriese eienskappe. Dit is dus uitstekend vir diabete en hipertensie-lyers en verhoed tandbederf.

Die komplekse stevioside-molekule wat in die blare aangetref word, bied die geleentheid om as ‘n versoeter verwerk te word omdat dit temperature van 200 C kan weerstaan. Maar dit is nie die enigste voordeel nie. As plantvoedsel gee dit ‘n soet smaak aan vrugte en as dierevoer verbeter die stevia-plant die gehalte van die vleis.

Binne tien jaar het die klein struikie wat 60cm hoog staan uit die tropiese noord-ooste van Paraguay, van 350 na 1500 hektaar se aanplanting gegroei. Die Paraguaanse owerhede hoop dat hulle binne vyf jaar 18 000 ton se gedroogde blare sal kan lewer. ‘n Kilogram van die stevia-kristal, die poeier wat 12kg se blare lewer, behaal tussen 40 en 100 dollar, afhangend van hoe suiwer die poeier is.

Dié land van 6 miljoen mense is tans besig om die nodige regstappe te neem om die produk internasionaal as inheems aan Paraguay te registreer sodat die landbousektor die voordeel van hul produk kan geniet. Byna die helfte van die bevolking leef in armoede.

Die ironie is dat Paraguay, waar smokkelhandel oorheers, nie die grootste produsent van stevia is nie maar vir die afgelope dertig jaar wel China. In China word 200 000 hektaar van die plant verbou. Paraguaanse produsente is egter nie bekommerd nie.

"Danksy ons klimaat kry ons drie oeste per jaar waar hulle in China net een kry." Maria Teresa Aguilera, hoof van die grootste stevia-bedryf Emporio Guarani, sê dat elke ander maatskappy geskakel het nadat dit bekend geraak het dat Coca Cola belangstel.

длядевочек

Duitse generaal se kierangs braai

Vryer Viereck

‘n Duitse generaal wat eers as ‘n "harde hond" onder sy manne bekendgestaan het, se kapperjolle mag hom sy posisie kos. Karlheinz Viereck, wat berug is daarvoor dat hy nie graag klagtes van sy ondergeskiktes aanhoor nie, het intussen self vir ‘n paar besware gesorg. Genl. Viereck was die bevelvoerder van die EUFOR-sending na die DRK wat daarop gemik was om vrede in die land tydens die afgelope verkiesings te waarborg.

Viereck het aan die internasionale media by die Memling Hotel in Kinshasa met die aanvang van die missie beklemtoon dat die Duitse soldate nie sal huiwer om te skiet nie en dat hulle die nodige militêre steun sal verskaf om die mandaat uit te voer. Die spesiale gesant van die EU het by dieselfde geleentheid gesê dat die DRK se verkiesings as ‘n baken van demokrasie in Afrika gesien sal word. Toe skermutdselinge in Augustus 2006 tussen die Kabila- en Bemba-faksie uitbreek en diplomate in die spervuur vasgekeer word, was die generaal ongelukkig nêrens te vinde nie.

Die generaal beweer dat hy wel mbv sy skootrekenaar in verbinding met sy troepe was. Hyself en die skootrekenaar was egter in Stockholm waar hy en sy vriendin, ‘n Sweedse diplomaat, ‘n lekker romantiese vakansie gehou het. Van "harde hond" het die bevelvoerder gevorder na wat die Duitsers ‘n Etappenhengst noem. Die Amerikaners praat dikwels van só ‘n persoon as ‘n chickenhawk, ‘n bangbroek vol bravade.

Nadat hy ‘n verbale afrantseling moes verduur en gewaarsku is oor sy versuim in die DRK in ‘n interne dissiplinêre verhoor, het die generaal blykbaar nogtans nie veel geleer uit die ondervinding nie. "Generaal Skootrekenaar" is tans vernoem na "Generaal Vraghouer". Hy het kort gelede weer sy Sweedse vriendin in Noord-Afghanistan onthaal op die onkoste van die Bundeswehr.

Dat die toestande lewensgevaarlik geraak het, het Viereck nie verhoed om die groen lig vir sy geliefde se besoek te gee nie. In teenstelling met Duitse regeringsamptenare en politici wat geweier word om by Duitse soldate aan te doen, het die Sweedse diplomaat diens, beskerming en versorging geniet. Die kiesers kan kwalik tevrede wees met die jongste kuiertjie omdat die Bundeswehr se verpligtinge die belastingbetaler reeds miljoene te veel uit die sak jaag.

Daarbenewens is die toestande in Afghanistan uiters moeilik vir die soldate. In Masar-i-Sjarif is die toestande nie net lewensgevaarlik nie, maar besonder ongerieflik. Almal moet maar meet en pas om in die versengende hitte van 40 grade by hul begrotings te hou en die manskappe waardeer die voorbeeld wat hul bevelvoerders stel in dié verband. Kennelik staan genl. Viereck tans voor ‘n loopbaanbeslissing wat hom duur te staan gaan kom.

купить палатку

Rushdie skei van sy vierde vrou

Rushdie geniet die kalklig

Salman Rushdie, deesdae Sir, nadat die Britse monarg hom op Soweto-dag vanjaar tot ridder geslaan het, se literêre agent het aangekondig dat die skrywer ‘n versoek van sy eggenote om ‘n egskeiding aanvaar het. Padma Parvati Lakshmi, oftewel Lady Rushdie, was sy vierde vrou. Haar naam beteken "lotus" in Sanskrit. Rushdie se onlangse ridderskap het vrese van "terrorisme" by kritici ontlok.

Rushdie (60) se agent het gevra dat die media hul privaatheid "in hierdie moeilike tye" respekteer. Padma Lakshmi (36) is aanbieder van ‘n kookrealiteitsprogram by name Top Chef en ten spyte daarvan dat sy ook voorheen aan die Melting Pot-reeks deelgeneem het, sê sy dat sy "gril" vir ander kulture se lekkernye. Die eertydse model wat in Indië gebore is, is vegetaries.

Daarbenewens is sy ook ‘n skrywer, al is dit net van een of twee kookboeke. Haar jongste verskyn binnekort en haar uitgewers hoop dat die nuusblootstelling die verkope ten goede sal beïnvloed. Die lang en lenige Lakshmi het in die VSA studeer en woon tans in New York.

Sy is op 17 April 2004 met Rushdie in die stad getroud nadat die twee by ‘n partytjie vir ‘n boekbekendstelling ontmoet het. Die aankondiging dat hulle gaan skei het presies twee weke ná die ridderskap gekom. Sy sal egter nie haar nuwe titel hoef prys te gee nie. Sosiale etiket veronderstel dat sy voortaan Padma, Lady Rushdie, sal heet soos in die geval van geskeide vroue.

Rushdie was in 1999 ook in die nuus nadat hy ‘n oogoperasie moes ondergaan om sy oë oop te hou. Die "dromerige" voorkoms van die skrywer is te danke aan swak ligamente wat veroorsaak dat hy nie sy ooglede kan beweeg nie.

Salman Rushdie het wêreldwye bekendheid in 1989 verwerf nadat ‘n Moslemdoodsvonnis bekend as ‘n fatwa oor hom uitgeroep is. Die grondleggers van die Islamitiese Republiek van Iran beskou sy roman "Satanic Verses" as godslasterlik. Rushdie is ook van Indiese afkoms. Alhoewel hy aanvanklik moes skuil vanweë die fatwa, word die outeur deesdae meer in die openbaar en selfs die kalklig opgemerk.

Protes teen Rushdie se ridderskap was daar wel, maar veral in Pakistan. In verskeie stede is afbeeldings van die Britse koningin, Elisabeth II, en Britse vlae verbrand nadat die vorstin besluit het om Salman Rushdie tot ridder te slaan.

Union Jack in ligte laaie, Lahore

Александр Фильчаков

Gazprom `army` approved

Russian gas giant Gazprom and pipeline monopoly Transneft will be given the right to set up armed security forces under a bill passed by Russian lawmakers on Wednesday.

The bill allows the two state-controlled companies to use guns and anti-riot equipment such as tear gas to prevent attacks on pipelines and other installations "necessary for state contracts."

Gazprom or Transneft Security Officers would also be given the same rules of engagement as state law-enforcement bodies, which are much broader than for private security companies.

Russian pipelines have come under attack numerous times by separatist rebels and Islamist fighters in the war-torn north caucaus region and other parts of Russia in recent years.

Critics said the bill would allow for the creation of private armies.

"This law envisages the creation of corporate armies … we are opening a Pandora’s Box because there are other companies that will now strive to set up their own army," said Gennady Gudkov, a lawmaker from the A Just Russia Party.

Under current legislation, companies such as Gazprom and Transnet are only allowed to hire external security firms, which have limited rights on bearing and using weapons.

The bill has now been sent to the Federation Council, the Upper House of Parliament, and will then be put before President Vladimir Putin for final approval.

video game slots топкарго отзыв

Nigerian kidnappers want white dad

The mother of a three-year-old British girl snatched in Nigeria has said the kidnappers phoned and threatened to kill her daughter.

Margaret Hill, the daughter of Oluchi Hill and oil worker Mike Hill, was kidnapped yesterday as she travelled to school by car in Port Harcourt, in the south of the country.

Margaret’s mother said the kidnappers threatened to kill her daughter unless Mr Hill agreed to take the child’s place.

She told the BBC they had called yesterday morning and demanded a meeting in a town in the Niger delta. They then allowed her to speak to her daughter, who was crying.

Mrs Hill, a Nigerian national, said the kidnappers told her to meet them in a town in Bayelsa state, but said neither she nor the police had been able to locate it.

"They say I can bring my husband to swap with the baby," she said. "He wanted to go down for his baby but the police commander told him not to."

She said the kidnappers then threatened to kill Margaret if Mr Hill did not come within three hours. She had not heard from them since.

Police and diplomats were today frantically working to help secure Margaret’s release.

Kidnappers smashed a window as the car carrying Margaret sat in heavy traffic and grabbed the toddler, according to an official at the British high commission.

Mr Hill, who has lived in Nigeria for 10 years, is originally from Murton in Co Durham. It is believed he works for the Nigerian-based drilling firm Lonestar.

The Foreign Office yesterday called for the "immediate safe release" of the girl.

"We do not know who took her. We are in contact with her parents and are providing assistance," a spokeswoman said.

"High commission officials are in contact with the Nigerian authorities. We call for her immediate safe release."

Kidnappings have become an almost weekly occurrence in the south of the country, where many foreign oil workers are based.

More than a dozen foreigners are currently in captivity and more than 200 have been taken since the end of 2005.

spravka

A burning smell enveloped the kitchen…

U.S. diplomats in Iraq, increasingly fearful over their personal safety after recent mortar attacks inside the Green Zone, are pointing to new delays and mistakes in the U.S. Embassy construction project in Baghdad as signs that their vulnerability could grow in the months ahead.

A toughly worded cable sent from the embassy to State Department headquarters on May 29 highlights a cascade of building and safety blunders in a new facility to house the security guards protecting the embassy. The guards’ base, which remains unopened today, is just a small part of a $592 million project to build the largest U.S. embassy in the world.

The main builder of the sprawling, 21-building embassy is First Kuwaiti General Trade and Contracting Co., a Middle Eastern firm that is already under Justice Department scrutiny over alleged labor abuses. First Kuwaiti also erected the guard base, prompting some State Department officials in Washington and Baghdad to worry that the problems exposed in the camp suggest trouble lurking ahead for the rest of the embassy complex.

The first signs of trouble, according to the cable, emerged when the kitchen staff tried to cook the inaugural meal in the new guard base on May 15. Some appliances did not work. Workers began to get electric shocks. Then a burning smell enveloped the kitchen as the wiring began to melt.

All the food from the old guard camp — a collection of tents — had been carted to the new facility, in the expectation that the 1,200 guards would begin moving in the next day. But according to the cable, the electrical meltdown was just the first problem in a series of construction mistakes that soon left the base uninhabitable, including wiring problems, fuel leaks and noxious fumes in the sleeping trailers.

"Poor quality construction . . . life safety issues . . . left [the embassy] with no recourse but to shut the camp down, in spite of the blistering heat in Baghdad," the May 29 cable informed Washington.

Such challenges with construction contracts inside the fortified enclave known as the Green Zone reflect the broader problems that have thwarted reconstruction efforts throughout war-torn Iraq.

The "fairly serious problems" noted in the cable indicate that First Kuwaiti’s work fails to meet basic safety standards, said an administration official who was not authorized to speak to the news media. But the State Department’s Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), which oversees construction of the new embassy, has kept a "close hold" on the project, making it difficult for anyone else in the government to gauge progress. "We are suspecting we will find the same issues in the new embassy," resulting in months of delays, the official said.

The embassy cable prompted a stinging response from James L. Golden, OBO’s managing director for the embassy project. In a cable dated June 8, he berated personnel in Baghdad for sending their message over an open embassy system, rather than keeping the complaints in-house. He defended First Kuwaiti and accused the embassy and KBR — a Texas-based company that runs many facilities in Iraq and discovered the wiring problems — of making false claims to deflect attention from their own errors.

The guard base "has been constructed to the approved design specifications," Golden wrote, adding that "none of the issues raised in the cable has merit" and that "it appears [the embassy] and KBR simply do not want to operate the camp for other reasons."

KBR said its concerns were justified. "Safety remains KBR’s top priority," said Heather L. Browne, the firm’s director of corporate communications. "Our initial assessments determined that the issues identified were not linked to KBR’s work and in fact inspection reports from the [State Department] confirm that KBR was not responsible for the safety issues identified."

The tough exchanges between Baghdad and Washington reflect some of the tensions as the State Department rushes to complete the embassy this year. Originally, the new guard base — estimated to cost about $22 million — was due for completion in January, but deadlines were missed. OBO certified that the camp "meets and exceeds" its contract requirements in a letter signed April 14 and provided by First Kuwaiti. The new delay in moving the guards may affect plans to build temporary housing for maintenance workers and contractors hired to help run the new embassy, which is scheduled to be completed in the fall.

An embassy spokesman declined to comment, referring calls to Washington. Pat Kennedy, director of the State Department’s Office of Management Policy, said that the embassy cable was a "frank discussion" of its concerns but that the embassy now "is satisfied with the process we have put in place to address these issues." He said he was "not prepared to make the large leap" that concerns about the guard base might also apply to the larger embassy project.

Retired Maj. Gen. Charles E. Williams, the director of OBO, who was formerly with the Army Corps of Engineers, declined to be interviewed. "It is internal business," said his special assistant, Phyllis A. Patten-Breeding.

First Kuwaiti’s labor practices are already under investigation by the Justice Department amid allegations that foreign employees were brought into Iraq under false pretenses — such as being told that they were to work in Dubai — and then forbidden to leave because the company had confiscated their passports. First Kuwaiti has called those accusations "ludicrous."

Samir Ida, the company’s construction director, said that the guard base was completed to "all specifications." He provided an e-mail from an OBO official who described it as "one of the better built camps" in Iraq. "The U.S. Embassy is still in the process of being constructed, and while some work remains, First Kuwaiti has not been informed of any issues relating to substandard work," he added.

After the electrical problem was discovered and no quick fix seemed available, the embassy was forced to serve the guards MREs (meals-ready-to-eat) for several days until all the food could be moved back to the old housing, known as Camp Jackson, according to the embassy cable’s detailed account. The original plan was for the guards to wait only one or two weeks before the electrical issues were fixed.

But the problems mounted. The 252 prefabricated residential trailers, with either two or three rooms each, filled with formaldehyde fumes. The trailer manufacturer, a Saudi company called Red Sea Housing Services Co., confirmed to the embassy it had used the toxic chemical in preparing the housing. Red Sea told the embassy to keep the windows open and use charcoal in the rooms to absorb the odor, but "the fumes are still prevalent," the cable said.

The embassy cable noted that five people had been identified at various times as the project manager, and that it was all but impossible for embassy officials to obtain information from them, with no one seeming to be in charge. "Two of the project managers have had extremely limited previous project management experience," the cable said. A $500,000 project to install a fire-suppression system appeared to be proceeding without proper supervision, it added.

The saga did not end there, as recounted by the cable in 23 lengthy paragraphs that mixed outrage with dense bureaucratic language.

First, KBR and First Kuwaiti quickly began finger-pointing. KBR electricians determined that the electrical wiring was too small for the load required, but First Kuwaiti electricians — after initially concurring — began to balk at the assessment, the cable said.

Then KBR raised new concerns about the grounding and electrical feeds into the facility.

The embassy cable noted that there had been at least four fires in dining facilities in Iraq blamed on similar problems. At a May 16 meeting, officials showed photos indicating fire hazards in the dining hall’s wiring that were so serious that the few guards who had moved into the base’s new residential housing were sent back to Camp Jackson.

"It was unknown as to whether similar wiring was present in the residential trailers," the cable said.

At the meeting, KBR representatives began to express unease about their responsibility and liability in operating and maintaining the base’s electrical system. On May 24, OBO declared that the wiring problem had been fixed, but KBR conducted an inspection a day later and said the problems remained. KBR found that the reworked wiring "is still substandard," the cable said. The embassy also said that it believes it has discovered counterfeit wiring, labeled as 10mm when it was actually 6mm.

Meanwhile, on May 18, OBO unexpectedly informed the embassy that it would soon stop maintaining the power stations and water-treatment facilities at the new guard base. The embassy protested that it had limited staff to operate the equipment, which needs to be in operation constantly to avoid costly repairs. First Kuwaiti provided only "minimal spare parts" for the power generators and "less than minimal spare parts" for the water-treatment plant, the cable said.

Finally, on May 25, a KBR hazardous-materials expert discovered that all 10 generators had developed leaks. The fuel tanks were installed without corrosion protection or leak detectors, and fuel had begun to saturate the soil around the tanks. The cable said that Teflon tape designed for water pipes had been used on the fuel tanks, and that such tape "will dissolve on contact with diesel fuel." KBR refused to operate the power generators unless its liability was waived.

The result, the cable concluded, is that the guards will continue to stay in "tents and deplorable living conditions." Officials now say that the guard base will not be ready until Aug. 1.

белое сухое вино цена Лобановский