Displaying comments 1 to 50 of 1182
MeFi post:
Knol goes live
So is this another of Google's "throw it against the wall and see if it sticks" attempts?
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 5:45 AM on July 24, 2008
MeFi post:
A people too scared to vote.
I'll just add that as a South African, despite the fact that our next probable next president (Jacob Zuma) has yet to stand trial on corruption charges, I can not wait for the Thabo Mbeki reign to be over. In 10 years he has fucked it up completely.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 2:55 AM on June 23, 2008
Zim economy set for Armegeddon
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 6:34 AM on June 23, 2008
gsteff: Why would Mugabe's cronies accept payoffs? They're making a fortune off of the black market and they plundered the DRC during Zimbabwe's military campaign there in the 90's (which is one of the "hidden" reasons the country is in such a dire state).
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 1:03 PM on June 23, 2008
MeFi post:
Cette bud n'est pas pour vous
"Miller didn't improve when the south africans bought it, I'm pretty sure Bud is gonna suck just as hard 10 years from now."
That's because SAB (which bought Miller and changed it's name to SABMiller) which dominates the South African beer market (90% of all beer sold is an SAB brand) is just the South African equivalent of Budweiser - producing watery amber coloured swill with a big marketing campaign.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 11:56 PM on June 12, 2008
MeFi post:
Tiered internet use
Welcome to South Africa. I pay R70/month per GB plus another R180/month just for the ADSL line. On average I spend R800-R900 (about $120) a month on internet access.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 7:29 AM on June 4, 2008
Oh and I'm on a blazing fast 384kbps line as well.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 7:30 AM on June 4, 2008
MeFi post:
Rachel Carson
The WHO did stop anti-mosquito spraying indoors for 30 years though:
Nearly 30 years after phasing out the widespread use of indoor spraying with DDT and other insecticides to control malaria, the WHO announced on Monday that this intervention would once again play a major role in its efforts to fight the disease.
The WHO said in a statement that it "is now recommending the use of indoor residual spraying not only in epidemic areas but also... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 6:52 AM on June 3, 2008
MeFi post:
They're messing with LIBOR - UhOh!
Is there any idea of the number of interest bearing instruments out there in the wild that are tied to LIBOR and wheter any parties or counterparties to those instruments have recourse should LIBOR be changed.
Also, releasing at 17:00 on a Friday? You already know the news is bad.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 3:30 AM on May 30, 2008
MeFi post:
"I dreamed a gold man was reading to me from a dirty book."
My favourite segments that I remember was when Crow was doing musical flashbacks to each decade. "It's the 80's we're all doing coke and vote for Ronald Regan"... except when he goes to the 70's and goes all the way back to 70 AD but still does a song about Roman history with a disco beat.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 5:45 AM on May 23, 2008
MeFi post:
its a small world after all
So instead of actively going out to find large crowds of civilians to obliterate your local insurgent merely has to wait for feeding time at the python enclosure.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 4:12 AM on May 21, 2008
MeFi post:
Nigerian Scammers
Vindaloo: "WTF, how does something decline for 9 months over years? I don't get it."
I would guess that for the last 9 months the traffic has been less than the same month a year ago?
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 6:04 AM on May 9, 2008
MeFi post:
Mugabe Attempts to Beat Zimbabwe into Submission
The mere fact that Zanu PF lost parliamentary elections that were so heavily gerrymandered in their favour, with political violence and intimidation campaigns against opposition going on for months, with anywhere between 3 - 5 million 'economically active' (i.e. people who probably can vote) refugees in economic exile in Botswana and South Africa excluded from voting means that had elections taken place in an environment resembling something that was actually free and fair to the MDC then Zanu... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 1:19 PM on May 8, 2008
MeFi post:
And the wheels start coming off again.
The Zimbabwean High Court decision on whether the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is compelled to release the presidential results is dues sometime today.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 1:47 AM on April 9, 2008
jquinby: This Is Zimbabwe is a good source (but is not updated very often) as are South Africa's major news papers sites: Independent Group Online, Mail & Guardian (whose publisher is Trevor Ncube, a Zimbabwean himself, he also publishes The Zimbabwe Independent one of the few non-state newspapers in Zimbabwe but it's website is hardly also updated) and News24.
If you want totally unreliable information read The Herald a state run newspaper and Mugabe's government... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 8:22 AM on April 9, 2008
See what Mugabe didn't seem to have realise is that the war veterans didn't just chase white farmers off their farms, they also chased their black farm labourers off as well (estimated at about 500 000 workers) who took the farming skills and knowledge with them.
So now the farms are lying fallow. Literally 4000 of 4500 commercial farms are no longer productive. Wheat and maize production is down 90%. Zimbabwe, who for decades was a net exporter of food, now has to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 4:13 PM on April 9, 2008
First of all, it is not the white farmers that do the farming in Zimbabwe; the African people are the farmers, but the whites, which were given title to the land by the international financial community, are the ones that can get financed for the modern equipment that is needed to produce larger harvests. With equal equipment, the African farmers could produce an even greater harvest to that of the whites who mainly supervise farm workers.
First of all I love your... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 12:55 AM on April 10, 2008
I should also add that the biggest fallacy is that farm invasions are some sort of land reform. They are little more than a political tool. Before 2000 when farm invasions were carried out by the rural poor they were summarily removed by the Zimbabwean police. It was only with the loss of the constitutional referendum in 2000 and the fact that the MDC managed to win 57 out of 120 parliamentary seats in the elections held in the same year did it becom clear to Zanu PF that they were losing conrol... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 1:37 AM on April 10, 2008
A Chinese ship carrying a shipment of arms bound for Zimbabwe just docked in South Africa. There have also been rumours (unconfirmed at the moment) of uniformed Chinese soldiers being seen in Zimbabwe.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 8:21 AM on April 16, 2008
Zimbabwe-bound ship cleared to dock
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 10:42 AM on April 16, 2008
SA won't stop Zim arms cargo
The government has defended the Chinese consignment of arms destined for Zimbabwe which is on board a ship in Durban harbour.
The An Yue Jiang, which is reportedly loaded with 77 tons of mortars, ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades, was boarded by SAPS explosives experts on Wednesday.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 4:07 AM on April 17, 2008
Zim govt accuses Tsvangirai of treason
Zimbabwe's government on Thursday accused opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason, saying he had plotted with former colonial power Britain to bring about regime change.
Citing alleged correspondence between British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tsvangirai, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Tsvangirai was begging for military intervention in Zimbabwe after last month's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 4:08 AM on April 17, 2008
At least someone's got balls:
Union refuses to unload arms ship
Opposition to a shipment of arms being offloaded in Durban and transported to Zimbabwe increased today when South Africa’s largest transport workers union announced that its members would not unload the ship.
SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) general secretary Randall Howard said: "Satawu does not agree with the position of the South African government... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 1:58 PM on April 17, 2008
MeFi post:
Spring And By Summer Fall
Doesn't the Dave Matthews Band (who are more recent than those 'heritage act's) make a truckload of cash touring than through rather than through CD sales?
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 10:00 PM on April 11, 2008
MeFi post:
Inflation in Zimbabwe
There are an estimated 2 - 3 million Zimbabwean economic refugees in South Africa (with another 5000 crossing the border every week). They send back enough foreign currency into Zim to prevent total collapse but I fear if the election situation (the Zimbabwe Election Commission refuses to release presidential election results, probably because Mugabe lost) is not resolved then even that may not be enough. Meanwhile these pictures are supposedly the kind of luxury Mugabe lives in.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 1:20 PM on April 7, 2008
MeFi post:
Gotta light?
"Hey, at least he wasn't singing 'Never Gonna Give You Up' while he did it."
Excuse me I just have to go out and buy some roller skates and a boom box.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 7:56 AM on April 7, 2008
MeFi post:
The Christian with Four Aces
“Her hair stood straight up on her head, she screamed ‘JESUS!’ and was delivered,” Robertson wrote.
Fancy that, the exact same thing happens to me whenever I get an electric shock.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 7:25 AM on April 2, 2008
MeFi post:
What Every American Should Know about the Middle East
I find fault that he splits Sunni and Shia into seperate groups and then implies that's where it ends. Sunni Muslims make up 90% of Mulslims worldwide and I highly doubt there are no significant subgroups below that.
posted to MetaFilter by PenDevil
at 4:43 AM on April 1, 2008
