Monday, July 6, 2009

Obama Headed for Africa

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President Obama is headed to Africa with tough love towards this country and does not want to hear about corruption or unjust government its time to move forward and deal with the issues instead of making excuses about the past.

He dedicated a one time interview to www.AllAfrica.com before his visit to Ghana's Cape Coast. In his interview a question was asked why being the the son of a Kenyan, why he choose Ghana as his first country to visit and his response was he was impressed with the successful election and government in that country.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/obamas-mission-of-tough-love-in-africa/article1207230/



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Saturday, July 4, 2009

Independence Day!

Survey on Article: 
Location of Note: Gauteng, South Africa
(South African Catholic)

Article by Marc Aupiais

No, it isn't a movie, with lots of aliens and Will Smith, mind you, who didn't think that at one stage. Today is July 4th, America's Independence Day, when them Mother Protestant British, were told off, via a Declaration of Independence by them Teenager Protestant, and Catholic rebels. Happy Independence Day to our American viewers! Hope you enjoy it!




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Friday, July 3, 2009

UPDATE ON: South Africa: State to spy on cell phone, internet, emails of citizens to prevent crime?

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Location of Note: Pretoria, South Africa
(Scripturelink Voters' Guide; c.f. IOL (Secular; independent; South African): via The Star : 02 / 07 | July / 2009 )

Update by Marc Aupiais
This updates: South Africa: State to spy on cell phone, internet, emails of citizens to prevent crime? Where we discussed multiple press reports about the fact that communication in South Africa, is now to be monitored, and stored by providers of service. An assurance by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, that phone calls would not be intercepted without a warrant, had caused confusion, over whether or not voice communications over a cellular phone would also be kept in the archives, the state has demanded be made. The details, and further information is in the previous article, where the process of registering users, and previous policy is mentioned!

It does seem from later press, that the RICA (Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication Related Information Act) act will require cellular companies to record, and archive in accordance with identifiable details of users: all voice communications over their networks, to be stored in the archive, which the state will have access to, via a court order, in a manner in which conversations can be linked to individuals. The act, as previously mentioned, would require text messages, and emails to be kept in an archive by cellular companies and seemingly also Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

IOL's The Star claims, as had IOL's Pretoria News, in a separate article:
"While cellphone operators will be obliged to keep a record of SMSes, emails and voice calls in an archive for access by authorities, cellphone calls can be monitored only with the permission of a judge."
(IOL (Secular; independent; South African): via The Star : 02 / 07 | July / 2009 )



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Thursday, July 2, 2009

(WWF) World Wildlife Fund: RSA CO2 emmissions equivalent to those of an industrialized developed Nation

Survey on Article: 
Location of Note: Johannesburg, South Africa
(World Tainted Green; c.f. News 24 ( Secular; Independent; South African) article by SAPA: 01 / 07 | July / 2009; Mail and Guardian (South African; Secular; Independent; Liberal) 01 / 07 | July / 2009 ; (World Wildlife Fund Website 01 / 07 | July / 2009) )

Article by Marc Aupiais

Local news is reporting, that the WWF (World Wildlife Fund For Nature), has raised some concerns over the carbon (CO2) emmissions given off by South Africa.

Local "Climate Change" Programme manager for the WWF, Richard Worthington, has claimed that our emmissions are equivalent to those of an industrialized Nation: per capita. A reason for this, noted by local news, who quote the WWF for this: is South Africa's reliance on coal.

The WWF local website, also notes a quote of their local "climate change" manager:

"Richard Worthington, WWF South Africa's Climate Change Programme Manager concludes: "In light of this report we encourage President Zuma to take a strong stand on climate change by ad-vocating for the levels of domestic action, financial support and technology cooperation that are required to avoid the dire impacts in store for Africa if the international community does not keep global warming well below 2 degrees.""
(World Wildlife Fund Website 01 / 07 | July / 2009)

ANALYSIS:


South Africa's energy market is monopolized by partially privatized Eskom, which has consistently been accused of alleged corruption, incompetence, and mismanagement, as well as allegedly lying about coal shortages. It has also been alleged in a report by MNET's InvestigativeCarte Blanche, that an alleged obsession, by Eskom: with government BEE codes: whereby government companies are encouraged to do deals with ethnically black persons, over ethnically white persons, or companies with more ethnically black ownership, over companies with less ethnically "black" owners: has allegedly caused shortages in coal supply.

Citizens in the Republic of South Africa, have consistently had their power turned off, and their electricity rates raised at skyrocketing rates, as Eskom provides cheap electricity to foreign high consumption industrial business, despite millions in losses by local business, and industry, and as South Africa continues to supply electricity to the likes of Zimbabwe, and other African nations.

Attempts to build more nuclear plants locally, have also been wrought with accusations of bad practice on the part of Eskom. Further acusations, involving lack of competition, and the need for independent electricity suppliers, have also previously entered the fray.

Based on this, and past practice, it is therefore unlikely that the South African Government will change energy policies. To conclude our analysis of how important the notation by the WWF: of our high CO2 emissions possibly is.

The WWF, has no comment on how the current government locally is doing as regards the grouping's standards. They are reported as saying that it is too soon to tell.

Whether changes obeserved from the eighties until recently (with an odd seeming plateau allegedly seemingly being reached), in world climate, are caused by green house gases, or other events, is still not an issue, to our knowledge: which scientists globally agree on.



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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

South Africa: Cape Town (Western Cape capital), may run out of water within a few years?

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(World Tainted Green; c.f. IOL (Independent; Secular; South African) 01 / 07 | July / 2009 )

Article by Marc Aupiais

According to IOL (Independent Newspapers South Africa), the Mother City, Cape Town: may run out of acceptible levels of water supply by the finishing of the year 2012 A.D.

 While City of Cape Town, controlled by the DA (Democratic Alliance) Official Opposition, says that Cape Town's Water Supply, will last until 2020 thanks to the Berg River Dam project, the Department of Water and Environment Affairs, of the central ANC controlled government, has warned of water shortages after 2012, or possibly 2016 if days ahead welcome wet spells in Cape Town, the Capital City of the Western Cape. The Department claims that demand for water supply, would need to significantly decrease for the claims of the city to be true.

Persons specializing in so-called Climate Change, at the University of Cape Town (UCT), quoted by IOL, claim that Cape Town is heading for drier times. Due to the politics of the situation, it is unclear whose version of this to trust, due to the consistency of differences between the National and Provincial government, which have occured in the Western Cape.

In any case, IOL's article, which we find interesting is accessible here:

IOL (Independent; Secular; South African) 01 / 07 | July / 2009 :

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=14&art_id=vn20090701052538104C572072


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South Africa: State to spy on cell phone, internet, emails of citizens to prevent crime?

Survey on Article: 
Location of Note: Pretoria, South Africa
(Scripturelink Voters' Guide; IOL (Secular; Independent; South African) 01 / 07 | July / 200930 / 06 | June / 2009: Pretoria News ; 30 / 06 | June / 2009: SAPA; ; MSN (Secular; Independent) 29 / 06 | June / 2009; DOJ Press Release 30 / 06 | June / 2009)

Governmental Links:

Department of Justice and Constitutional Development:
Inter alia: Profile of Jeff Radebe
http://www.doj.gov.za/contact/cnt_min.htm

Press Release: 30 June

DOJ Press Release 30 / 06 | June / 2009
http://www.doj.gov.za/m_statements/2009/20090630-st-rica.pdf
 
Presidential Assent: By Jacob G. Zuma
http://www.doj.gov.za/legislation/proclamations/2009-no39-gg32341-interception.pdf
 
We were not able to access the actual act, in order to analyze it ourselves, due to slow operating of a government site.  And due to the confusing process this act underwent.
 
Dislcaimer:
This article does not constitute legal advice. It is based on interpretation of facts, as portrayed in different articles, of press group: IOL. Rely on it a your own risk. 
 
Article by Marc Aupiais

It is advertised as a manner of pre-empting crimes. If the police can monitor you, they can stop something happening. This use of monitoring technology was successful, in one instance in Canada, when a certain Graham McMynn, was saved from captors, after police in Canada did an "emergency wire tap", allowed in Canadian law in those circumstances, without a warrant from a judge (MSN (Secular; Independent) 29 / 06 | June / 2009).

The problem with the South African version of legislation governing wire taps etc, where information is archived, and then accessed with the permission of a judge, requiring all cellular users to be registered, along with their place of residence, or nearby church or school, if they have no formal home, is that it is feared to be too much like big brother, as citizens can no longer use telecommunications anonymously.

According to the Department of Justice (And Constitutional Development), which says that from June first (Today), new cellular users will have to comply with the regulations: that they be registered, in order to buy a starter pack from network providers:

"The Act was necessitated by the fact that criminals make use of new technology to plan and execute crimes. These amendments are in line with similar legislation that has recently been adopted by many other countries across the world. The aim of the amendments is to assist the law enforcement agencies in the investigation and combating of serious crime and to ensure that the identity and whereabouts of the owner of a SIM-card who used a cellular phone in the planning and execution of a serious crime is known. Government will therefore work closely with the various services providers to ensure the successful implementation of this Act."
(DOJ Press Release 30 / 06 | June / 2009)

In South Africa, many customers of cellular services use prepayed airtime, which is bought from shops, and added onto their cellular account as they need it. Cellular companies in The Republic of South Africa have not traditionally been required to look into who were using their prepaid services.
IOL has been reporting for a while now on the: Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication Related Information Act (RICA), regulating inter alia, the tapping or interception of private communication sent via telecommunications structures.

According to IOL:

"The new act will force cellphone operators, including Internet and email service providers, to keep SMSes [What are known overseas as Texts: Small Message Service], emails and voice calls in an archive to allow for access by authorities."
(IOL (Secular; Independent; South African) 30 / 06 | June / 2009: Pretoria News)
However, in later article, IOL note assurances from the South African state: that voice calls on cellular phones will not be illegally intercepted, and that interception of cellular phone based voice calls required the go-ahead of a judge. No public assurances about one's emails were to our knowledge: noted, and Cellular providers are already, to my knowledge: required to keep smses for a period of about 5 years. This later claim by IOL seems to contradict the previous, which we quote of them, as allegedly appeared in Pretoria News, unless cellular companies are to record all voice data sent through their networks, and unless, storage of voice calls is not what the minister there notes as interception. As we have been unable to find a copy of the act, we cannot presently elaborate.

IOL noted the allegations that part of  the ANC ( African National Congress ) had used its power in the past, via state intelligence, to allegedly tap the conversations of political rivals. An allegedly tapped conversation, was allegedly used by President Jacob Zuma, whereby rival: Former President Thabo Mbeki, is alleged to have said some compromizing things as President, while speaking to a state employee, who was prosecuting Jacob Zuma on over 700 now dropped charges of alleged corruption, the conversation having been secretly monitored by the NIA (National Intelligence Agency), the alleged tapes of the conversation, had reportedly been given to Jacob Zuma's lawyer, and an acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) had dropped the case (His predecessor having been fired, by the ANC lead government).

IOL notes that access to the new archives will require the authority of a judge. The act probably will mean that many many personal private conversations will be acessible to the state: possibly in the future: going back years and years, hardly how the Canadian system of emergency tapping beneficially worked to save a captive. There reportedly is still the important requirement that a judge be involved, in taps which is notable. However: exactly what the act entails is cloudy. It seems to have been passed already in 2008, and IOL mentions 3 years of progress. There are certainly articles from 2006 on the RICA act, however. The confusion has meant that we have not been able to give our fuller coverage of this topic, especially as we do not have a copy of the act in our possession.

Analysis


On the surface, trust in the judiciary in South Africa, certainly is not at a high, especially as parliament has been alleged to have shown some influence over judges. Recent suggestion, by Jeff Redebe (Minister Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe): of amending sections of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, which are probably in place to ensure Judicial Independence, has also recently been reported.

While regulations have seemingly in the past required that cellular companies keep SMSes for five (5) years on their servers (I have visited MTN's foreign services backup centre, where they use impressive technology to store information), the newly enforced legislation could well mean that the State has access to many of your every digital, transferred electronic words. It could seemingly mean, that with the help of a single judge, your electronic past from a date some time prior: could be accessed, and seemingly brought before a court of law, and connected to you. An important part being that one would now have to prove who they were, give their Identity (ID) Number over to cellular services providers, and reveal where they live: or have their SIM card deactivated. This means that archives of your communication habits, could be linked to you. It is also of note, that the government states that the law is apparently necessitated due to a so-called need to monitor possible criminals in case they commit crimes.

As one's physical position may be gained from their cellular phone's location: via triangulation, it is also possibly concerning that all cellular phones will need to be registered. How secure the archives kept by telecommunications companies will be, is unclear to us. Telecommunications companies have 18 months allegedly, to register the details of all users, after which they will be charged R 1 00 000 (One Hundred Thousand Rand), per a day late.

The Republic of South Africa gives a Constitutional right ( in Chapter 2) to its citizens, of privacy, however the reported requirement of a judge's go ahead to access archives, and the fact that no rights given South African citizens are absolute, could mean that this act remains unchallenged. The authorities are desiring that proof of residence be given in person, for instance: via bank statements: by persons to their cellular companies, according to IOL. How this will affect the 2010 FIFA (Football / Soccer) World Cup, already reportedly in trouble due to alleged lack of interest in touring here: among foreign fans, is not immediately clear.

The legislation, is meant to combat crime, according to Justice Minister: Jeff Radebe (Minister Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe of The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development):

""The aim of the amendments is to assist law enforcement agencies in the investigation and combating of serious crimes, and to ensure that the identity and whereabouts of the owner of a SIM card who used a cell phone in the planning and execution of a crime is known," "
(IOL (Secular; Independent; South African) 01 / 07 | July / 2009)

The later article by IOL quotes Jeff Radebe (Minister Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe) as saying that the legislation only allows the tapping of voice conversations over cellular phones, with the permission of a judge, and on the basis that it is reasonable to believe that a crime will be committed. If the Pretoria News article, as we have quoted it, was correct, then this would still leave unanswered: doubts involving the possibility of voice conversations being stored in an archive. The later statement, as noted seems different from IOL's claims in Pretoria News.

South Africa's intelligence agencies seemingly: already have a right, with a judicial warrant, to tap into phone conversations.

The legislation was signed by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob G. Zuma, on the 18th June 2009, according to the DOJ website (No 39 of 2009: Signature 18th June 2009: http://www.doj.gov.za/legislation/proclamations/2009-no39-gg32341-interception.pdf).

While accessing the DOJ (The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development) website, I was unable to find the actual wording of the act, nor to determine the exact meaning of the enactment of this legislation. I have thus been forced to rely on what Independent Newspapers (IOL) has said on this issue.




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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Pope to Meet US President Barak Obama

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Pope Benedict XVI will welcome U.S. President Barack Obama to the Vatican on July 10. The president will be visiting Italy between July 8 – 10, to participate in the G-8 summit.

The devastating earthquake that rocked L’Aquila, will be the site of the meeting. The new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, a theology professor, Miguel Diaz, was or has not be confirmed or made public as of yet.

When G8 leaders meet in Italy they will have two very important crises to talk about, the financial market from last September and the food crisis that sparked riots around the world last year.

While the G-8 has already spent more than $1 trillion to bail out the financial system, what is in the future to help millions of people suddenly rendered hungry by a 43-per-cent rise in food commodity prices is still up in the air.

Pope Benedict XVI’s prayers on June 14, in St. Peter’s Square on behalf of the “hundreds of millions of persons who suffer from hunger” weren’t just a standard plea for the poor.

The Pope had a scheduled meeting for June 24 & 26 with the United Nations in New York and the July 8 & 10, will be the G8 summit hosted by Italy.

The stats claim a meeting is in dire need to discuss what to do about more than a billion people that’s one in every six human beings alive that goes hungry, according to the United Nations World Food Program . The World Health Organization estimates that each year 3.5 million children under the age of five die of hunger and related diseases.


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ANC in provincial land grab?

Survey on Article: 
Location of Note: Cape Town, South Africa
(Scripturelink Voters' Guide; c.f. (IOL (Secular; Independent; South African) 29 / 06 | June / 2009 ; (IOL (Secular; Independent; South African) 07 / 11 | December / 2008 )

Article by Marc Aupiais

According to IOL in an article by Ainsley Daniels((IOL (Secular; Independent; South African) 29 / 06 | June / 2009 ): Sicelo Shiceka, who is The Republic of South Africa's ruling ANC (African National Congress) Minister of the controversial Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Ministry, has made claims of a report allegedly in which the ANC run South African State government, or officials in it are looking into reducing the number of provinces in South Africa. The provincial government of the opposition DA (Democratic Alliance) in the Western Cape (province) had previously alleged interference in provincial matters. The minister had claimed that even the Western Cape would be pressured by him. His ministry has certainly not eased tensions.

On December 07th 2008, when he, as a person, represented local government, involving the changes to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa as they related to the contentious and at times violent Khutsong Township issue, he was accused of undermining the central government((IOL (Secular; Independent; South African) 07 / 11 | December / 2008). This would certainly be am about turn, if those allegations are true.

During apartheid, there were much fewer provinces, reflecting the politics of pre-apartheid Boer and British colonies, which had formed the Union of South Africa, and the 1910 Union Constitution in compromise, after the Second South African / Boer War, seemingly won by the British.

Any amendment to having 9 provinces, as with a separate effort to get rid of vital aspects of Judicial -Independence,( the latter pushed by minister of Justice and Constitutional reform: Jeff Radebe:) would require amending the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. With the enlargement of the opposition, the ANC could not introduce any of these plans into practice: without the help of opposition parties' Members of Parliament.

If I am correct, they would also need the okay of provinces whose borders are affected to successfully legislate the prior. Acting without the confirmation of an applicable province, would require taking away the current Constitutional rights of the provinces to do so. To take away areas of provincial authority was apparently also suggested by the ruling ANC recently.

According to IOL(IOL (Secular; Independent; South African) 29 / 06 | June / 2009), critics of redrawing the provinces believe the ANC wants to redraw them to oust their DA opposition from the Western Cape province, where DA head: Helen Zille is premier.

Retraction: Due to tertiary measures: we have discovered a serious error in a Scripturelink.net News Article relating to Blog Rorate Caeli

Survey on Article: 
(Tridentine South Africa)

Article by Marc Aupiais

Retractions are not things any service enjoys to send out, especially not public, readable ones, however: in the interest of accuracy, and in accordance with our general policy, they are utterly necessary when we make mistakes which are larger than typing errors, which we are known to correct.

This retraction involves 2 events which both occurred, to our knowledge: in Bavaria, Germany, at around the same time: one conducted by the FSSPX / SSPX, a sect which was acting in direct disobedience to the Vatican via what they did, and the other done by the FSSP, who have left the SSPX for the mainstream.

Rorate Caeli reported on the ordination of 5 FSSP priests, seemingly in Bavaria Germany, at the same time as we were reporting on the Ordination of three SSPX priests in Bavaria, Germany. We assumed that they had misreported on the same issue, and they did not, to our knowledge note in their artilce any link to the FSSP.

The only hint, which we assume was certainly there at the time, was which bishop did the ordinations. We are not however in the habit of researching SSPX Bishops mentioned, and did not research the name provided by the blog: Rorate Caeli, which would have turned out to be a mainstream Catholic Bishop. We changed our rating in our articles of Rorate Caeli, from Catholic, to sympathetic with the SSPX, due to a perception that they were endorsing schism, something which took allot of time, when in fact Rorate Caeli were actually congratulating partakers in a perfectly licit event, simply nearby the proximity of another event.

We therefore are wading through the 8 Scripturelink Service articles we had altered, in order to take away our endorsement of Rorate Caeli as Catholic: now returning their status to Catholic!

With our multiple search resources, which we usually use, we apologize for assuming that we understood a story, without the adequate research, which we will hopefully provide in future. It is our public, and private search engines, by which our articles have become as sound as they are, along with general knowledge of the faith. We have in the past researched every important name mentioned by sources, perhaps we should return to this policy, at least where sources appear to have discrepencies: rather than simply noting apparent discrepencies.

Whenever we change the status of a seemingly Catholic website, we generally ensure a second opinion: in case we have made an error, in this case we asked Trinity Communications to review Rorate Caeli, noting our perception, in accordance with general policy. They returned our request, by noting that it was not in fact the SSPX ordination, which Rorate Caeli had been referring to. We then fact checked their conclusion, via the research we should have done into the Bishop who was noted as ordaining the 5 priests, and verified their facts.

It is fortunate that we were the ones who initiated an investigation into our own facts: via our tertiary, and just about never before necessary: policy of getting an informed, external second opinion, rather than have an error pointed out to us in a manner unrequested. While I regret making an official retraction, which we have not made in more than a while, I am glad that our service caught the error. Any errors in any sections of our articles, are important enough to adjust, and any errors can be reported to us, so that we may alter them.

The article directly affected has been altered. Changes made due to that article, have been changed back to the extent that the error has in our observation: been contained. We apologize for any inconvenience!

Marc Aupiais
Scripturelink.net News Section




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Monday, June 29, 2009

World Tainted Green: Welsh want to attempt compulsory charges for plastic shopping bags

Survey on Article: 
Location of Note: Wales, United Kingdom
(World Tainted Green; c.f. BBC World News (Secular; Governmental; British) 29 / 06 | June / 2009 ; )

Article by Marc Aupiais

It is something that has been tried before. In fact, charging per plastic bag, and discouraging single use bags: was tried before: right here in the Republic of South Africa.


Personally: I am not sure if it worked here, granted, our plastic bags are thicker (and in our case generally recyclable), and we have to buy them, and do buy less. At the same time, the apocalypse predicted by industry at the time it was introduced here, did not occur.

The Welsh Parliament, is reportedly considering forcing shoppers to buy every plastic shopping bag they use. Welsh Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing, since June 2007: Jane Davidson, has suggestedthat shops charge, up to 15 pence, per shopping bag that a customer buys. At least part of the extra, the BBC reports: being gained, via levy, by the Welsh government.

Like in South Africa, where a similar  initiative has already been put in place, the new plastic bags, will likely be multiple use bags, and probably thicker than current plastic bags. The applicable minister, seems to be affiliated with the Labour party. While a Liberal Democrats spokesperson Mick Bates AM (BBC World News (Secular; Governmental; British) 29 / 06 | June / 2009 ; ) raised concerns of what the money earned from a possible levy would be spent on, Angela Burns, representing the Conservatives: asked (BBC World News (Secular; Governmental; British) 29 / 06 | June / 2009 ; ) that the possible levy be implemented earlier, rather than later.

Wales currently uses four hundred and eighty million (480 000 000) plastic bags per year. Wales a a territory within Great Britain / The United Kingdom.




As an internationally collaborative: initiative to provide a more transparent, accurate view of the world: This service is brought to you by the Scripturelink Search Engine (quotations, or confers in this service/initiative, are provided to give perspective independently, or reference some external sources: and do not imply collaboration, or any kind of affiliation, or co-operation with other services, or initiatives, which are quoted or noted in articles)



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