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Saturday, December 7, 2013

Death of an Icon: Madiba

It was a sad day 5 December 2013 following the death of South African National Icon, former president and national hero Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (aged 95).

For those of you who don't know much about this powerful man, here is a small summery of his big life.

On 18 July 1918, he was born to a Thembu royal family, through his life he studied hard attending the Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of its Youth League, he became involved in anti-colonial politics. 

Apathied was a doctrine enforced by the South African National Party when came to power in 1948, Apartheid id the separating of races. White supremacists believed they were above those of darker skin color and that is when the injustice and mistreatment of all non-white citizens began, that is when he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 with a  Defiance Campaign. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961 in association with the South African Communist Party, leading a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government.

In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial. Mandela served 27 years in prison, initially on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Mandela published his autobiography and opened negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory. As South Africa's first black president Mandela formed a Government of National Unity in an attempt to defuse racial tension. He also promulgated a new constitution and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Continuing the former government's liberal economic policy, his administration introduced measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services.

Other things he has done to impact lives, Internationally, he acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, and oversaw military intervention in Lesotho.

Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Denounced as a Marxist terrorist by some US conservatives, he nevertheless gained international acclaim for his activism, having received more than 250 honours, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Soviet Order of Lenin and the Bharat Ratna. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata ("Father"); he is often described as "the father of the nation".

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” — Nelson Mandela 


Monday, November 18, 2013

Dose of the future: Waterproof Technology in a can

Yep, you read right, spray on waterproof anything.... from clothes to boxes... yes even cell phones.
A couple of months ago I watched a video about this amazing new product that repels liquids using hydrophobic elements. Anywho I was intrigued, haven't seen it on shelves at the local hardware stores but, hey, wouldn't hurt to watch out for a nifty spray like this right?

Check it out!
Never Wet


oh look... similar technology
Ultra-Ever Dry


amazed.... yes.




Sunday, November 17, 2013

Dose of the future: New smart card? (coin)

Ever had the problem of having too many cards in your wallet or purse? Worse was having to go through them every time you went out to make sure you carried the needed ones instead of the unnecessary load? Ever stopped at a store and realized, oops I just remembered I don't have my credit card on me??? Well there's finally a fix!

It's called Coin and you can store all your cards on it virtually! Watch this!


All I can say is nice play with the name... and it's about time!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Support a cause: Typhoon Haiyan

Yet another disaster devastating a part of the world. Mother nature wields bad weather like naughty kid who found her dad's gun. the target was the Philippines. Read more about how Typhoon Haiyan (as it was named) destroyed homes, lives, and how we ordinary people can help.



Demolished town on eastern Samar Island (14 November)

Typhoon Haiyan: Before and after by ABC News

Just hover or swipe over each satellite photo to view before and after imagery.

Aerial images taken over the Philippines reveal the scale of devastation Typhoon Haiyan has caused in the once-vibrant coastal city of Tacloban. The typhoon, known locally as Yolanda, is believed to have killed 2,500 people.


Go check out their site and their appeal to the global  community to help these people affected.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Supporting a cause: Save the Arctic and Free the Arctic 30

On September 18, 28 activists and two freelance journalists have been arrested following a peaceful protest against oil drilling. Being brave, they took a stand and two of them climbed an Arctic oilrig to hang a banner, to bear witness to the injustice and draw global attention to the issue. 

According to Camila, a 21 year-old activist from Argentina, describes the action in a blog post.  
Four inflatables leave the Arctic Sunrise heading towards Gazprom's oil platform, the Prirazlomnaya. Activists attempt to climb and establish themselves on the outside structure of the platform to protest against imminent drilling.
They are here to peacefully protest against the Arctic oil rush, which threatens grave harm to the Arctic environment, as well as extracting more oil that humanity cannot afford to burn. The Prirazlomnaya is the first oil rig to start oil production in the ice-filled waters of the Arctic. Safety culture on the rig is a joke.
The nearby Russian Coast Guard ship quickly responds by launching inflatables manned with agents masked in balaclavas. They proceed to ram and slash the Greenpeace inflatables, threaten activists at gun and knife point and fire warning shots from automatic weapons. Further, the remaining crew onboard the Arctic Sunrise count 11 shots fired across the bow from the Coast Guard vessel's artillery cannon.
 

They were arrested. The Greenpeace ship was seized. All 28 activists and two freelance journalists have been charged with piracy. They are facing 15 years in jail if the charges stick.

Want to help? 

Take a stand for peaceful protest. Send a letter to the Russian Embassy to free the Arctic 30

Currently they are still detained with no sign of release. Russia's Investigative Committee announced that it will apply for a three-month extension to the detention of the Arctic 30

 

SAVE THE ARCTIC 

 


The Arctic is majestic, extreme, and extremely fragile. Companies like Gazprom and Shell want to drill for oil, putting the entire planet at risk. Now 30 men and women are imprisoned in Russia for trying to stop this destruction and protect the region. ACT NOW to Save the Arctic and Free the Arctic 30: Greenpeace.org_Arctic 30

Update:

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Veterans Day 2013

Celebrating the devotion of those who serve.

History

Veterans Day is an official United States holiday which honors people who have served in armed service, also known as veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect.)

Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. In proclaiming the holiday, he said

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."

1) Kelber, Sarah Kickler (28 May 2012). "Today is not Veterans Day". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
2) "The History of Veterans Day". United States Army Center of Military History. 3 August 2009.



Friday, May 31, 2013

its a Goodle... Google Doodles getting... a little to informative

May 31 celebrates the birthday of one Julius Richard Petr, the man who invented the petri dish (Julius ol' chap scientists everywhere thank you). Now how does this relate to Google you may ask yourself, well in a mean of celebrating this event and letting people know what this day signifies Google mad one of their fun doodles.

okay, I'm curious lets press play!


>Click<


Oh! it's a hand swabbing the little petri dishes, okay then?

>Watches<
So bacteria starts to grow, appears light at first then gets darker. Let's inspect it!
>Hovers over the petri dishes<

hovering over each one shows you where that particular bacteria is found!

Agreed, bacteria is every where, but if we had to be conscious of it all the time... we would live in a world full of germaphobes! 
We would walk around like this:


Play Sport like this:


Its a nice day out, lets go swimming! (what a bout bacteria?) oh no worries i carried my swimming bubble

what about high fashion?



oh... its been done...

lol (just for laughs)  have a good day...