Author: Mike

I saw the old name of Rhodesia appear this weekend with news that Bishop Abel Muzorewa had passed away. I am not sure why, but his name has always remained in my brain along with that of Ndabaningi Sithole who died in 2000.

Maybe it’s been the loose connection of visiting RSA a number of times in my youth courtesy of the Royal Navy when the dreaded Pass Laws were still in effect in the 60’s and participating in the UN backed Naval blockade of oil from getting to the port of Beira – the Beira Patrol.

I am sure before he death that Abel Muzorewa would have been very sad about the way the situation has ended up in what is now Zimbabwe and that it was one of his early compatriots, Robert Mugabe who has driven that country in to the ground.

It now seems that a replica of what happened in Zimbabwe may be appearing on the horizon for the RSA with a rise in the power of a certain Julius Malema and his ANC Youth League – linked to the recent murder of Eugene Terreblanche.

Rian Malan, a controversial figure himself (for his AIDS denial statements) cites an growing power struggle with the ANC where Julius Malema seems to suggest following Mugabe’s ‘economic’ program of wealth distribution.

Yes there is still massive inequality in many parts of Africa including the RSA (and in fact around the world), but there has to be a better way to sort this out than the example that Mugabe unleashed on a once vibrant and prosperous country.

The  inequality has still not been removed, it’s simply transferred from one ruling elite to another!

Maybe they will and maybe the won’t, how long it will take could be down to who wins the election? But an interesting article in the Guardian.

Anything that helps to lower the cost of these calls would be a good thing.

For a number of years when I was in the Royal Navy and was old enough to vote, the services always ensured that where ever you were (or going to be) there was always a possibility to cast your vote in any General Election.

Clearly times have changed and it now seems that many current service personnel will miss out on the chance to vote in what for everyone will be an important election.

According to this article from the Times (will I have to pay for this link after June 2010?) the issue on the surface seems to be about the changes in the military postal service and a number of ‘changeovers’ of units.

Could there be some ‘deeper’ reasons that many of our Forces will be denied the right to vote?  According to this Independent article, it is about the logistics of getting voting paper out and back in the allocated time. Last time I looked, the military have some of the fastest methods for moving ‘stuff’ around, surely with a bit of planning it should be a ‘no brainer’ to sort this out within the time frame allowed.

However, might it be that if many of the forces personnel were to vote Conservative this time (as Andy McNab says in the Times article above) and as many of them come from some of Labour potential marginal seats, their votes could add to the impending ‘hung’ parliament that everyone is predicting and deny Labour of an outright win.

Would this government stoop to such a low tactic to ensure victory?

Having to deal with what your enemy is trying to do to you is one thing. But worrying about what your government is doing to your rights behind your back is another. Lets hope that this gets sorted out as soon as possible.

Anyone who watched last nights Cutting Edge C4 program must have sat transfixed as the stories unfolded in front of us, I know I was. It was so sad to see how damaged these lads were, both mentally and physically.

Certainly this program more than any other report I have seen, brought home another hidden truth about what is going on in Afghanistan and well done to C4 for getting this out in the open.

Another aspect that was evident was the tremendous care and attention that the medical crew gave to their patients on the long trip back from the ‘front-line’.

We can all only have a deep appreciation of the service and sacrifice that these lads have given to protect us. I know I do.

Latest info from the MOD on the Casualty figures.

Following on from my previous post I’ve just come across this nugget of information in that BT Wholesale  has connected its one millionth user to its 24Mbps service.

I’d like to know how to get hold of this, even the BT Broadband sales web site does not mention it. I suppose I’ll have to live with 5MB for the time being!!

After some deliberation, it seems that OFCOM, you know the people that continue to let ISP’s miss sell broadband speeds, have finally decide that in the UK’s new Digital Britain that anything above 24Mbs download (yes please) will be classified as Superfast Broadband.

If that is the case, then I think the majority of us will be waiting a very long time to join that ‘Superfast’ club, possibly even past 2017 as set out by Gordon – the Digital Guru – Brown recently.

More info on this from…

• Faster broadband roll-out urged by OFCOM

• Brown pledges fast broadband for rural areas

• BT urged to open superfast broadband network to rivals

And if you missed what Gordon Brown said and the plan, it’s here.

The Tories plan is here.

For me this is really late news, we should already have a 10Mbs infrastructure in place. If we are already operating in a ‘Knowledge Economy’, other countries will soon leap ahead of the UK before we ever start to implement the 24Mb lines.

So the government has spent money on compiling a list of ‘pro-Islamic’ bloggers. even though the data was compiled nearly two years ago in April 2008!

The background is here and the report is available (in PDF) for download from the Home Office web site here.

I partially understand why this might have been created, but where is the list of right wing extremists bloggers, don’t we need to keep track of them as well?

Found this backgrounder to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 in an email forwarded to me from what looked like a list server.

But after cautiously opening it, found some interesting links and info about yet more interference by this government of trying to cover up information that should really be made public.

The relatives of those who die on the government’s watch – whether in Brixton or Basra – are entitled to know why they died. – Liberty

An interesting read.

What the hell is going on with UK politics?

Labour suspends three ex-ministers over lobbying claims – the debacle continues.

MPs’ foreign visit rules breached – Junkets obviously pay. Whose in the frame for this one, it seems it’s a very cross party collection of names. See the list of name at the bottom of the BBC page, or see this first story and what “David Amess MP: Foreign trips and rule breaches” did.

What do politicians of this country want us to think about them? Not a lot it would seem.

Been following the BA strike news as it has come out, but still don’t know what the real reason is for the strike. Is it really about BA wanting to reduce their long-haul cabin staff by one person? Or is it about something bigger?

Here’s a clip from one of the BA staff that is going to go into work.

An here’s a report from one of the strikers. Why do neither of them want to show their faces. Do they not believe what they stand for?