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Swallowed by Mzansi: South Africas ruling class in Africa
southern africa | imperialism / war | opinion / analysis Friday June 10, 2011 02:12 by Shawn Hattingh - (personal capacity) ZACF
In this article, using an anarchist analysis, it will be argued that this lopsided trade, expansive investment and projection of state power by the South African ruling class are signs of the imperialist role they play in southern Africa. In undertaking this, it will be outlined how the South African ruling class, as an integral part of their imperialist role, are conducting a class war against the workers and the poor across sub-Saharan Africa. Through examining this class war, it will hopefully become clear that the South African state is being used as a key instrument by the ruling class made up of capitalists and high-ranking state officials to further their own interests in southern Africa. The consequence of highlighting the imperialist nature of the South African state also has implications for the strategies and tactics that should be used in struggle. It will be strongly argued that due to its hierarchical centralising and expansionist ambitions, the state cannot be used as a tool for liberation in South Africa or in the region.
Swallowed by Mzansi [1]: South Africas ruling class in Africa [2]
All of these are the outward symbols of South Africas economic and state power in the region. In most southern African countries, South African based private and state-owned companies have become one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment. In some places this has even seen them surpassing the investments from the UK, US and EU [3]. It is no exaggeration to say that South African linked corporations have come to play a huge role in the mining, financial, retail, services, telecommunications and leisure sectors in southern Africa [4]. Coupled to this, South Africa runs a major trade surplus with the rest of Africa: it exports five times more than it imports with regards to the continent [5]. The South African state also has a colossal presence in the region, whether as the head of peacekeeping missions, the driver of trade and investment agreements, or the leader of the African Union (AU).
In this article, using an anarchist analysis, it will be argued that this lopsided trade, expansive investment and projection of state power by the South African ruling class are signs of the imperialist role they play in southern Africa. In undertaking this, it will be outlined how the South African ruling class, as an integral part of their imperialist role, are conducting a class war against the workers and the poor across sub-Saharan Africa. Through examining this class war, it will hopefully become clear that the South African state is being used as a key instrument by the ruling class made up of capitalists and high-ranking state officials to further their own interests in southern Africa. The consequence of highlighting the imperialist nature of the South African state also has implications for the strategies and tactics that should be used in struggle. It will be strongly argued that due to its hierarchical centralising and expansionist ambitions, the state cannot be used as a tool for liberation in South Africa or in the region.
Before outlining an anarchist analysis of imperialism, and discussing why the South African ruling class should be considered imperialist, it is important to highlight some of the main debates on the left around the nature of South Africas role in the rest of Africa. In doing so, it will become clear why and how an anarchist interpretation differs from these.
Differing positions on South Africas role in AfricaSouth African linked corporations and the state have played a dominant role in southern Africa since at least the 1920s. South African linked corporations, including the likes of AngloAmerican, grew rich by exploiting workers from across southern Africa [6]. Under apartheid the South African state also undertook regular military incursions into neighboring countries to weaken their opposition and to ensure their continued dependence [7]. With the end of apartheid and the quantum growth of South African based corporations investing in the rest of Africa, a debate has re-opened on the left around what role the post-apartheid elite in South Africa have been playing on the continent, including whose interests they have been serving.
The dominant view amongst the left is that South Africa plays a sub-imperial role in Africa. According to this argument, the elite in South Africa have elected to position themselves as a junior partner of British and US imperialism. Thus, the elite in South Africa are seen as mainly serving the interests of US and Britain in Africa, and consequently they are seldom viewed as taking any independent actions - in their own interest - beyond the odd rhetorical flourish [8]. The most prominent person putting forward the sub-imperialist argument, Patrick Bond, stated in 2006 that: Mbekis project has been to situate South Africa as a subimperial partner of the worlds major military and economic powers, insofar as this entails lubricating markets and systems of accumulation by tying Africa into the institutional framework of global capital, and by assisting as a deputy sheriff in implementing imperial military and socio-political strategies [9].
In the sub-imperialist argument, therefore, one of the core functions of the South African elite is seen as that of a peddler of neo-liberalism in Africa, ultimately on behalf of the US, the EU and Britain. The central evidence used to back up this argument is the role that South Africa played in developing the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD). As such, people making the sub-imperial argument have continuously highlighted the co-operation that took place between South Africa, the US and World Bank in developing NEPAD. NEPADs main goals were to promote neo-liberalism across Africa, with a particular focus on privatisation, trade and investment liberalisation [10]. In this argument, South Africas involvement in NEPAD is seen as being undertaken mainly to please the US and Britain; rather than for its own distinct interests. Certainly, people who have put forward the sub-imperialist argument admit that South African capitalists are expansionist in Africa which is an important part of the argument - but despite this expansionism, they argue that South Africas elite remain mostly in service of the US and EU [11].
In the sub-imperialist argument, the close co-operation and collaboration that takes place between the US and South African militaries is also highlighted. Much has, therefore, been made of the cooperation between the two states around aspects of the war on terror, including perhaps somewhat paradoxically - the sale of arms by the South African state to the US military. The beefing up of South Africas military is also taken as evidence of the seeming willingness of the South African elite to act as a proxy for the US militarily in Africa [12].
The main protagonists of this argument consequently believe that a struggle needs to be waged in South Africa, the region, the continent and Third World to ensure the emergence of more progressive governments [13]. This should involve, according to those making the argument, progressive political parties taking state power [14]. It is argued these governments could then default on foreign debt, control capital flight, undertake inward-development strategies, end liberalisation, attract foreign investment on favourable terms, and shift the global balance of forces more towards the South. [15] Through this strategy it is believed that US imperialism could be blunted, and South Africas sub-imperialist role ended in the region.
A countervailing argument is that South Africa cannot even be considered sub-imperialist. According to this broad argument, the elite in South Africa are seen as being either petit bourgeois [16] or a comprador class [17], who are totally dominated by the North and/or who are local puppets of imperialism. Those that head the South African state and South African based corporations are seen as being completely reliant on foreign capital and powers for their positions [18]. Accordingly, it is argued that South African based corporations are either subsidiaries of US and EU corporations, or they are owned through shares by financiers from the North. The expansion of such corporations into Africa via South Africa, therefore, tends to be seen as the expansion of US and EU entities. This is then viewed as part and parcel of Northern imperialism; not South African sub-imperialism. Likewise, South Africas own domestic economic policies along with initiatives such as NEPAD are viewed as being set by the IMF and World Bank, and hence the US state. Although certain differences are admitted, for the most part South Africa is consequently seen as being as much of a victim of Northern imperialism as any other African or Third World state [19].
To combat this situation, it is argued, an alliance including workers, peasants and sometimes even the black petit bourgeoisie [20] is needed to drive states in the South including South Africa towards being more progressive. The argument goes that these more progressive states, including South Africa, could formulate industrial strategies, along with land redistribution, to benefit the popular classes. Protagonists of this argument also propose that the market should be regulated by the state, but that an entrepreneurial layer should also be allowed to exist. Such Southern states, including South Africa, India, Brazil and China, could then work together to combat Northern imperialism [21].
Are these explanations adequate?Important points are made within both arguments. Notably, they highlight how US imperialism has been a very powerful and destructive force within southern Africa, including South Africa. The US state and corporations have extracted vast amounts of wealth from South Africa and the region. Although both arguments rightfully view US and EU imperialism as powerful forces, they perhaps fail to realise or acknowledge that they are not all-powerful. This means that the ruling class in South Africa is quite capable of carrying out its own independent actions. For example, sections of the South African elite can and do sometimes act contrary to the wishes of the US and EU, when it suits them. As will be discussed later, in certain parts of Africa, the South African ruling class have pushed out, out competed and even undermined the interests of the US and EU. Over the last few years, the South African ruling class have also been seeking closer relations with the Chinese state. Again this has been for their own benefit; despite the discomfort this has caused the EU and US. This means the ruling class in South Africa are following their own interests: in the case of southern Africa this involves dominating it as an imperialist, sometimes in collaboration with the US and EU and sometimes alone. The key, therefore, is that even when South Africas ruling class collaborate with the EU and US it is a willful act of self-interest they are not merely powerless puppets. Neither of the above arguments seems to be able to fully account for any of the independent actions taken by the South African ruling class.
As both of the above arguments also derive from Marxist and dependency theory perspectives, the actions of the South African state, as an expansionist entity in its own right, are also often glossed over or dismissed as sub-imperialist. This partly derives from the fact that in both arguments the state is viewed as being controlled solely by the capitalist class or its puppets. They, therefore, fail to see that high ranking state officials are a distinct part of the ruling class. State officials through their positions often have control over the means of production (in the form of state-owned companies), and more importantly they have control over the means of coercion and administration through the state. This makes high-ranking state officials powerful, and through this control they form a distinct part of the ruling class [22]. Although high ranking state officials have very similar interests to the capitalists under capitalism, as they derive much of their wealth and power from the income generated through capitalist exploitation, they also have their own distinct interests. Sometimes these interests can clash with those of capitalists. A good example of this is that states sometimes implement policies and political practices, like increasing tax rates, which are contrary to the interests of capitalists; but do have benefits for the state in terms of increased power. Thus, the ruling class cannot be reduced only to capitalists; it includes, and can even be made up solely of, high ranking state officials [23]. Anarchists have long pointed out that class is not just about the relations of production but also relations of domination [24]. High ranking state officials, through their positions, are able to use the state to control persons and territories in ways that are not simply about exploitation, but domination. Both of the above arguments fail to see this, which has implications for how they view the role of the South African state and ruling class in Africa.
To understand how both South African capitalists and high ranking state officials can be imperialists, in their own right and in conjunction with one another, it is important to understand an anarchist view of imperialism before applying this analysis to the South African context.
An anarchist view of imperialismIn an anarchist view, imperialism is the process by which the ruling class of one country dominates the people and material of another by political and/or economic means. By definition this means ruthlessly oppressing and exploiting the workers and poor of the dominated country [25]. It is, therefore, workers and the poor who bare the brunt of imperialism. However, the local elites ambitions can also be stifled by imperialism, although not always. If this happens, these local elites can and sometimes do resist imperialism. It is this that often forms the basis of the ideology of nationalism in the Third World.
One of the driving forces of modern imperialism is the expansionist nature of capital. Capital is always seeking out areas where there are new markets, cheap raw materials, cheap labour, less competition, and fewer regulations. In short capital is always seeking to expand into areas where it can maximize its profits. With problems such as over-production/under-consumption etc. in more developed economies, capitalists also seek to escape these problems and thereby reduce the competition they face within their home markets [26]. As such, capital is inherently expansionist if a corporation doesnt expand it faces the real prospect of losing out to competitors or being swallowed up [27]. As such, anarchists like most Marxists view powerful capital as being imperialist in nature.
Imperialism is also part and parcel of class war. By expanding into other markets or countries, usually where labour is cheaper and more easily exploitable, imperialism allows capitalists to increase the strength they have with respect to the working class in their states of origin. By expanding into other regions, capitalists are effectively embarking upon an investment strike within their home countries; while broadening their bases of operation. This allows them to reduce the possible impact of local strikes on their operations, as their entities in other regions will usually not be affected. It also enables them to play foreign workers off against local workers in a bid to drive down wages [28]. Imperialism, therefore, operates as a disciplining force on the working class, and leads to the increased exploitation of workers in the country of destination and, often, in the country of origin.
Imperialism also functions to check or control the industrialisation of the dominated countries. This is done through ensuring a system of inequitable trade and by extracting profits from the dominated countries. This often forces dominated countries to import value added products while specialising in the export of raw materials. In attempting to dominate countries in such a manner, the possibility of conflict always arises. Local ruling classes in dominated countries are usually willing to collaborate with imperial capital, because they benefit by doing so. However, in certain cases, these ruling classes may come to begrudge and resist their sub-ordination. Thus, ruling classes within dominated states should not simply be viewed as compradors, as they can and do sometimes resist imperialism (if they choose to collaborate this is also a willful act that is aimed at increasing their own power). To prevent local elites resisting, therefore, expansionist capital requires powerful states and militaries as a threat, or actual weapon, to check such unruly local ruling classes. The struggle for new markets and access to new resources also invariably leads to conflict and tensions amongst competing imperial capital, which in turn requires powerful states to protect their respective interests [29]. Linked to this, capitalists require the backing of powerful states to negotiate and enforce favorable trade and investment agreements. Therefore, powerful capital needs a powerful state as a backer and protector [30]. In highlighting the role of the state as a protector of capital, an anarchist analysis is similar to most Marxist ones. An anarchist analysis, however, also views states as being more than simply this.
For anarchists, high ranking state officials in powerful states are usually most willing to play this role of protector and backer, but for their own reasons and not merely because they are puppets. Their power and wealth, derived through means such as taxes, often rests on having powerful capital within their state. It is, therefore, often in their direct interests to help their capitalists expand into new regions. In order to make ones state secure, a strong economy is needed [31]. As a consequence, the relationship between high-ranking state officials with capital is close under capitalism they form part of the ruling class but each still can have their own distinct interests. For high ranking state officials, strengthening the wealth and power of the state solidifies their own positions. State officials, however, also often use their positions to accrue personal wealth and business opportunities; sometimes undermining existing capitalists to do so.
Powerful states are also imperialist in their own right. Like different capitalists, states compete with one another to increase their influence and power. They also vie with one another to secure resources for their long term economic and political future, including gaining access to oil, gas, coal and recently biofuels. This is done by attempting to increase their sphere of influence. This competition between states creates a situation where there is a hierarchy of states. In this states are either dominant or dominated. In order not to be dominated they always have to strive to increase their power by expanding the areas they control in the case of modern imperialism this is indirect control. To achieve this, powerful states will try to gain the consent of the ruling classes of dominated states. Less powerful states often seek out more powerful ones as protectors and do so to secure their own positions and to climb the hierarchy of states. In this constant jostling states are only constrained by the fear of what other states can do to them. This means that threat of military power is always in the background. Bakunin summed up the inherent expansionist ambitions of states when he said:
The supreme law of the State is self-preservation at any cost. And since all States, ever since they came to exist upon the earth, have been condemned to perpetual struggle a struggle against their populations, whom they oppress and ruin, a struggle against all foreign States, every one of which can be strong only if others are weak and since States cannot hold their own in this struggle unless they constantly keep on augmenting their power against their own subjects as well as against the neighbourhood States it follows that the supreme law of the State is the augmentation of its power to the detriment of internal liberty and external justice [32].States cannot, therefore, end imperialism the drive to expand their power and influence is inherent within them. Even if a state can resist one imperialist, another would inevitably arise under the global system of states. With the decline of a major imperialist power, others will step into the vacuum often leading to many mini-imperialists. Likewise, even when a state successfully resists imperialism, it is quite likely to begin acting as an imperialist in its own right it would have to do so to continue to augment its power. States and imperialism are, therefore, intimately intertwined. While not every state is an imperialist, and only powerful states are able to act as imperialists; due to the expansionist ambitions of all states (in controlling people within their own territories and gaining power over other states), imperialism is the potential and aspiration of all states.
Indeed, states are centralizing and hierarchical institutions, which exist to enforce a situation whereby a minority rules over a majority [33]. The hierarchical structure of states also inevitably concentrates power in the hands of the directing elite. States are, therefore, the concentrated power of the ruling class made up of both capitalists and high ranking state officials - and are a central pillar of ruling class power [34]. In Africa projects, like African socialism, aiming to use the state to supposedly liberate people literally turned into a nightmare. A new tiny elite, headed by the likes of Nkrumah, arose at the head of these states, and were involved in brutally oppressing and exploiting workers and the poor to expand their own power [35]. The anarchist Mikhail Bakunin foresaw the possibility of such a situation arising in cases where national liberation was based upon the strategy of capturing state power. Bakunin said that the statist path was entirely ruinous for the great masses of the people because it did not abolish class power but simply changed the make-up of the ruling class [36]. Due to the centralised nature of states, only a few can rule a majority of people can never be involved in decision making under a state system as it is hierarchical. As such, he stated that if the national liberation struggle was carried out with "ambitious intent to set up a powerful state", or if "it is carried out without the people and must therefore depend for success on a privileged class" it would become a "retrogressive, disastrous, counter-revolutionary movement [37]. History has proved Bakunin right: using the state to bring about liberation has been shown to be an oxymoron and a historical failure.
It, therefore, stands to reason that anarchists believe that to end imperialism, and to achieve genuine national liberation, requires workers, peasants and the poor to end capitalism, the state and indeed all forms of oppression like racism and sexism - through an international class struggle: workers literally uniting across borders against their class enemies. Thus, states and capitalism would have to be smashed and replaced by genuine worker self-management, self-governance based on federated councils, and an economy that is aimed at meeting peoples needs; if genuine freedom is to be achieved. To get to such a society free of domination, oppression and imperialism - one cant rely on rulers, vanguards or states: doing so will lead to the rise of a new elite. This translates into a situation whereby the means and the ends of struggle should be as similar as possible to get to a free society; movements based on direct democracy, self-management, self-organisation and direct action are needed. As such, the struggle for genuine freedom also has to be taken up in unions and social movements to transform these into such vehicles of direct democracy and working class counter-power. Such movements, infused with libertarian principles, would literally be creating the new society within the shell of the old. As part of moving towards a free society via revolution, it would also be vital for these movements to win concessions from states and capital in the short term, thereby building class confidence and organisation, which would be essential if capitalism, the state and imperialism are to be ended [38]. The basis of this struggle for immediate gains should be internationalist and infused with the ideas and practices of mutual aid. Thus, people should also seek to globalise their struggles and fight to win concessions such as a global minimum wage and standard working conditions as part of building a working class counter-power that can end states, capitalism and imperialism.
The South African ruling class are imperialists!When an anarchist view of imperialism is applied to the role of the South African ruling class, and their actions in sub-Saharan Africa, it becomes clear that they are imperialists. South African linked capital, sometimes in conjunction with international partners, have been expanding headlong into Africa because of the high rates of return it offers. South African based corporations have been making profits ranging from 30% to 60% in the rest of Africa; compared with returns of 14 to 20% in South Africa [39]. In fact, for decades South African corporations have been expanding internationally to try to escape over-production/under-consumption in South Africa [40]. Trade between South Africa and the rest of Africa is not only skewed in terms of volume, but also follows a pattern whereby South Africa mostly imports raw materials and exports value added goods to its neighbours, including weapons, plastics, chemicals, explosives, and machinery [41]. South African linked corporations operating in Africa also have propensity to import many of their goods from South Africa. For example, the retailer Shoprite which has stores across the continent sources most of its products from its home base [42]. South African based multinationals also tend to use South African based banks, which have also expanded into the region, when seeking finance. With an already established client base these banks have become major competitors to international banks such as Standard Chartered in Africa. Thus, South African corporations often create interlinking service providing chains when moving into Africa [43]. The vast majority of the profits that they make are also either repatriated or stashed away in tax havens. This pattern of trade and investment contributes towards the limited industrialisation of other southern African countries [44].
South African linked corporations are involved in an intense class war in the continent through driving down wages, promoting casualisation, and undermining workers and unions. For instance, MTN in Nigeria actively prevents its workers joining unions [45]; Shoprite has a nasty habit of almost exclusively hiring expatriate white South Africans as managers along with introducing old South African labour practices [46]; Tongaat-Hullett pays its workers appalling wages [47], while Illovo Sugar in Zambia operates a compound with apartheid-like curfews for workers [48]. South African companies are also notorious for purchasing existing entities, often privatised under Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) and NEPAD, and then slashing the workforce to drive up productivity and profits [49]. Local competitors often emulate these practices and attack workers to increase their profits and vie for market share. As such, the expansion of South African corporations in Africa appears to be contributing towards the deterioration of working conditions. This expansion, however, has also been used as a weapon to try and tame the South African working class. With the extension of South African capital into the region, local strikes have become less effective. Likewise, when faced with radical workers, South African companies often use the threat of relocating their operations [50].
South African registered multinationals have not only attacked workers, but have also unleashed their oppressive power on communities. They have done this to gain access to land and pass off the costs of pollution onto communities. For example, the Johannesburg registered company, AngloGold Ashanti, has been involved in polluting rivers in Tanzania and Ghana. Communities along these rivers have suffered chronic health problems and their livelihoods have been completely ruined. Coupled to this, AngloGold Ashanti, along with their allies in the Ghanaian and Tanzanian states, have been involved in violently expropriating land and suppressing small-scale subsistence miners who enter the companys claims [51] [52] [53]. Activists highlighting these abuses have reportedly been threatened with arrest on numerous occasions. Indeed, AngloGold Ashanti has become notorious for its activities, and even stands accused of financing a warlord to protect its interests during the war in the DRC [54].
AngloGold Ashanti is by no means the only South African based multinational to have close relationships with the states in which they invest. Other South African linked corporations often form close ties with state officials, along with securing local partners. For example, Illovo Sugar is exceptionally close to the Malawian state. The Malawian state reportedly evicted 30 000 people to make way for an Illovo plantation [55]. In Zimbabwe, Barloworld even supplied the Zimbabwean state with the bulldozers for its brutal evictions during Operation Murambatsvina [56]. Politicians and state officials across Africa have also given South African companies massive tax breaks to curry favour with them [57]. Local ruling elites form such relations with imperialist capital whether from South Africa, China, the US and EU because it secures their positions, it strengthens their state (due to resources derived from collaborating with multinational companies) and benefits them materially. This means that local elites in southern Africa are not simply puppets; they are rather maneuvering and collaborating with imperialists for their own interests.
The question is: should these actions by elite South Africans be considered imperialist? Past arguments on South Africas role in Africa have been correct in pointing out that South African capital often collaborates with capital from the US and EU - for example AngloGold and Illovo Sugar are partly owned by British capital. This means the actions of the likes of AngloGold Ashanti are often attributed to Europeans or North Americans and their imperialism [58]. But this overlooks the fact that elite South Africans also have major shares, and senior positions, within such companies, including ANC-linked liberation heroes like Toyko Sexwale, Cyril Ramaphosa and Patrice Motsepe. What past arguments on South Africas role in Africa, therefore, perhaps fail to fully grasp is that when South African capital forms such partnerships with Northern capital, they are doing this to increase their own wealth. This means they are not victims but opportunists. When they expand into Africa, alone or in partnership with other capitalists, they - by definition of being capitalists - conduct themselves as rapacious opportunists. They dont expand into Africa because evil Europeans and North Americans told them to do so; they do it to make money and become more powerful. To make this money, they trample and abuse workers and the poor in the region; and use this to also drive down the wages of workers in South Africa. As such their imperialistic nature and practices are evident.
South Africas imperialist stateThe expansion of South African linked capital in Africa is also not some natural phenomena; it has been facilitated and promoted by the South African state. As pointed out, the South African state worked with the US, EU, IMF and World Bank to develop a continental neo-liberal programme, NEPAD [59]. It is also no accident that South African based companies have been the main beneficiaries of NEPAD. While NEPAD could, in isolation, perhaps be considered sub-imperialist, it has only been one pillar of a much broader state strategy to secure opportunities for elite South Africans in the region.
For decades, the South African state has positioned itself in southern Africa as the dominant political and economic power. To maintain this position, the post-apartheid South African state has signed trade and investment agreements with the majority of African states, which are highly favourable to private and state-owned South African companies. For instance, after signing a bilateral agreement with the Mozambican state, South African agribusinesses were given thousands of hectares of land in Mozambique [60]. When a similar deal was signed with the Congo (Brazzaville) state, South African commercial farmers were allocated 200 000 hectares of ex-state owned land, with the option of extending this to 10 million hectares in the future: this is an area twice the size of Switzerland [61]! These and other such deals have been justified by leading officials on the basis that: If we cant find opportunities for white South African farmers in this country, we must do it elsewhere in the continent [62]. Not merely content with such sweet trade and investment deals, the South African state has also established Bi-National Commissions with the ruling elite in numerous other African countries - which favour South Africas commercial interests. Likewise the South African state was the driving force in promoting a free trade agreement across the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which again will benefit the most powerful economy in southern Africa: South Africa. None of these are deals that have been done on behalf of the US or EU; they were rather South African state-led deals that were aimed at benefiting South Africas old and new elite.
Pretoria has also used its political power within Africa to defend and promote the interests of South African linked capital against other imperial capitals and states. For instance, shortly after the Zuma government signed a state to state deal around oil explorations with the DRC, the DRC state took away the oil concessions of the British based multinational, Tullow Oil. These oil concessions were subsequently handed over to a South African linked company owned by Jacob Zumas nephew; much to the annoyance of the UK and Tullow Oil [63]. Similarly, in Mozambique the South African state secured gas concessions for SASOL by pressurising the Mozambican state into forcing its rival, Enron, out of the country (at the time Enron was one of the largest corporations in the world and was being backed strongly in its bid by the US state) [64]. On the political front, the post-apartheid state has also defended governments in the region, like the Mugabe regime, against the US and UK. While there may have been some economic reasons for doing so, the main reason was a show of force. The post-apartheid state was demonstrating that regionally it did not always have to tow the line of the US, UK or EU. It also protected Mugabes state in order to avoid destabilising its own agenda in the AU. If it had taken a strong stance against Mugabe there would have been a political blowback that would have adversely impacted on its leadership of the AU. In all of these actions, the South African state was acting as a rival imperialist to the US and EU. This, however, does not deny the fact that the South African state aligns itself with the US. Undeniably, it willingly partners with the US, but it does so to increase its own power. This constant drive for power, however, also sees the South African state going against the US state, especially in the context of southern Africa. These actions are not contradictory when seen through an anarchist lens the key to understanding what the South African state is doing is to realise its actions are all aimed at increasing its power.
The South African state itself, through its state-owned corporations, has become a major economic player in the rest of Africa. The state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has R 13.9 billion invested in projects in 22 African countries [65]. The state-owned electricity company, Eskom, has interests in 33 other African countries. There are also plans underway by Eskom and the state to build a massive hydro-electric dam on the Congo River. Electricity will be imported from there into South Africa by Eskom. Any excess capacity, not needed in South Africa, will then be exported out into the region at a profit [66]. Likewise, PetroSA has also been expanding into Africa to ensure the states future oil supplies [67]. As part of securing its long term energy needs, the South African state has also signed agreements with countries in the region to directly secure land for its future biofuel and food needs [68]. These actions, although having benefits for capital, are mainly about securing the states future strategic needs and placing itself in a pivotal position in terms of energy in the region. All of this is about securing its power in the long term; they are in no way aimed at benefiting the US or EU nor are they sub-imperialist actions they are rather expansionist.
Ominously, the South African states latest domestic economic policy, the New Growth Path (NGP), explicitly promotes the expansion of South African exports and investment into Africa. Indeed, it has been identified as vital for the future growth of the South African economy. Within this, state-owned companies are seen as having a central role, and it is explicitly stated that they will be involved in new projects throughout Africa. This means that the South African state views its continued and even expanded role within the region as essential. The fact that this expansionist role has been codified in the states economic policy speaks volumes about the nature of the South African states behaviour in Africa: it is an arrogant, dominating and exploiting force.
The conceited manner that the South African state has conducted itself within the region has even irked some of its partners and allies that head up neighbouring states. To be sure, the behaviour of South African state officials within forums, such as SADC, has become infamous. The South African state has often disregarded established protocols, packed these forums with numerous delegates and, thereby, dominated proceedings. It has also been noted that South African officials regularly disregard the viewpoints of neighbouring delegations. Added to this, the South African state has arrogantly come to view itself as the rightful driver of the regions developmental policies [69]. This arrogance is the arrogance of an imperialist.
The post-apartheid state has also not been averse to using its military power in the continent. In 1998, under Mandelas leadership, it invaded Lesotho following a coup. The reason for the invasion was to protect South African investments in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The main aim of this Project was to supply water to the wealthy neighbourhoods and industries of Johannesburg [70]. The state officials in Pretoria clearly were not going to allow this long term supply of water to be jeopardized hence troops marched into the neighbouring country. In recent years, South African troops have also been deployed to the DRC and Sudan as a peacekeeping force. In reality this was a projection and accumulation of power by the South African state it has been meant to demonstrate that it is a force to be reckoned with in Africa. In reality the role of the South African troops in the DRC has often involved targeting the enemies of the South African states local allies, in the name of subduing rebels and keeping the peace. For instance, in 2006 South African troops, making up a UN force, were implicated in an attack on a village reportedly being used as a base by a rebel militia. During the attack at least 30 civilians died. It was also reported that troops opened fire indiscriminately on the village with machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades [71]. The South African state has also spent billions on purchasing new offensive weaponry to rebuild the traditional strength of its forces. It would be mistaken to view this military build up as being done on behalf of the US rather it is being done by the South African state to increase its own power in the region.
ConclusionFrom an anarchist perspective, it is clear that South Africas ruling classes are acting as imperialists in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. Central to this has been the role of the South African state. It has protected and furthered the interests of the South African ruling class in the rest of Africa. It has also been involved in protecting its power and augmenting it by dominating the region, which has included dominating forums like SADC and the AU.
There are, however, promising signs that a struggle against the dominance of the South African ruling class by the popular classes in the region is beginning to happen. Shoprite across Africa has been wracked by strikes for better wages, better working conditions, and an end to racist treatment [72] [73]. Likewise, Illovo and Tongaat-Hullett have been surprised by the militant actions of workers in southern Africa, which has included sabotage [74] [75]. In 2010 a lot of the anger of the mass riots in Maputo was also directed at South African private and state-owned companies. Clearly, workers, peasants and the poor across the region are feeling a growing sense of anger about the exploitation and domination that they have been subjected to by the South African ruling class.
Although the elite in the neighbouring states are sometimes annoyed by the South African ruling classes behaviour, few have openly challenged it. The reason for this is that it is not in their material interests to defy the South African state or capital. Even if they were to challenge the South African elite, it would not mean an end to the exploitation of workers and the poor in southern Africa. The ruling classes in southern African states owe their positions to exploiting and dominating their own citizens. The case of the anti-imperialist Zimbabwean state is a prime example. While undertaking policies that benefit the Zimbabwean elite, such as expropriating some of the possessions of imperialist powers in the country, the state has intensified its oppression of workers and the poor. This is the only way that leading state officials, making up part of the Zimbabwean ruling class, can maintain their positions at the apex of Zimbabwean society. Thus, workers and the poor cant rely on local ruling classes or states which due to their centralised and hierarchical nature generate rulers - to bring about freedom. The ruling classes wont give people freedom because it is not in their interests in any case true freedom cannot be bestowed it can only be taken. Certainly local ruling classes may resist an imperialist power for their own benefit, but this resistance is an attempt to increase their own wealth and power. As such, in order to end imperialism whether conducted by the ruling classes in South Africa, China, the US or EU workers and the poor in southern Africa are going to have to rely on one another. By necessity, the cruel interlinking systems of imperialism, states, capitalism, foreign and local ruling classes will have to be fought simultaneously. Only the working class and poor have a material interest in ending these oppressive interlinking systems.
This struggle against imperialism (including South African imperialism) in the region, however, is still in its infancy and faces many challenges. There is a danger it could take on nationalistic connotations. It is, therefore, vital that workers across southern Africa and internationally begin to forge links and unite against their common enemies: foreign and local ruling elites. In the case of South African imperialism, South African workers need to unite with their brothers and sisters in neighbouring countries: they too face common enemies. South African workers once again need to fight their struggles based on internationalism; if not there is the real potential for further outbreaks of xenophobic violence. Indeed, workers across the world have more in common with one another than they do with any boss or politician. As such, workers, peasants and the poor should not put any faith in cross-class alliances with local elites. Rather, they need to form unity with one another, and struggle outside of and against states. It is also no use just resisting one imperialist power, all imperialist powers have to be fought.
Perhaps the biggest challenge in the region is that most local progressive movements are weak. This needs to change. Movements need to become powerful fighting organisations, but this can only be achieved by practicing direct democracy, undertaking self-education, self-organisation and direct action. Workers and the poor within movements also need to keep power in their own hands, and not relinquish it to left intellectuals or bureaucrats. This is due to the fact that a counter-power in the hands of workers and the poor is going to be needed if states, capitalism and imperialism are going to be fundamentally challenged. This also means a struggle has to be taken into unions in the region, which are often bureaucratised, centralised, reformist, and closely linked to states. Workers and the poor themselves need to transform unions into revolutionary, self-managed, non-hierarchical and directly democratic decentralised organisations that can eventually supplant the power of the ruling class. Without such revolutionary unions and movements it is going to be extremely difficult to defeat imperialism and the systems of capitalism, racism, nationalism and states on which it rests.
1 Mzansi is a Zulu word that is used to popularly refer to South Africa
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Le vieux monde opprime les femmes et les minorités de genre. Leur force le détruira !
Against Militarism and War: For self-organised struggle and social revolution
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Anarchist Theory and History in Global Perspective
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Death or Renewal: Is the Climate Crisis the Final Crisis?
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Origins was this past weekend and with it the Road To Crystal Brush as well. For me, it was an exciting convention because I got to have my first go as a judge for a miniature painting contest, the Crystal Brush.
I have been spending the last several months studying under the amazing Jen Haley learning how to be a better painter and also what to look for in a competition piece. Not only is this a lot of fun, but I get to put my art degree and painting knowledge
I'm a professional painter and I love it. Every day I go into the office or sit at my desk and paint and enjoy every minute of it. While it's not easy, it's something I'm passionate about so it makes the long hours shrink. I can spend four hours painting and think nothing of it. I don't work because this is what I want to do with my life. I'm also fairly new to being a successful miniature painter, just a little over and year and half. So while I'd like to offer a couple choice pieces of advice
For my first blog post, (since I should get in the habit of rambling) I've decided it should be a brief introduction about myself and what I do. For those of you that don't know me, I am Elizabeth Beckley, and I am a full time professional miniature painter. Yes, this is what I do to pay the bills and I love it! I have currently been painting professionally for a year and a half and currently work in-house at CoolminiorNot as a studio painter. I also do freelance
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1 Photos of 2 Center Street, Nantucket MA
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It sounds like something out of the Austin Power movies or Robert DeNiro's "circle of trust" in the Focker movies, but in the world of hurricanes the "Cone of Uncertainty" is just that; as the forecast goes out in time, the exact location of the hurricane becomes less certain. Therefore the official forecast from the National Hurricane Center paints an area around the expected track to reflect the average error of the forecast.
You'll see the cone in the image above. The image shows the National Hurricane Center's prediction, as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, of where the hurricane could go over the next three days. The "cone of uncertainty," representing a range where forecasters think the hurricane's center could go, is in white.
The hurricane center, located near Miami, is tasked by the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to constantly watch the tropics and warn when tropical waves and disturbances grow into organized low-pressure areas known as tropical depressions. When tropical depressions develop, the hurricane center starts issuing advisories on the system.
Sophisticated models running on some of the fastest computers in the world ingest data from satellites, ship reports, radar (if it is available), and data from weather balloons, airplanes and weather stations. Literally billions of calculations are done with very complex equations to help model the atmosphere into the future. More than 20 different kinds of models are run - some being more reliable and complex than others - to help forecast the track and intensity of the storm. You may have seen one of our meteorologists show the "spaghetti" maps on television depicting a storm's possible paths, or seen the plot maps on cnn.com/hurricane.
Example of plots:
Forecasters use this model data - along with real-time information obtained by satellite, radar, observation and hurricane hunter planes that fly right into the center of the storm - to help the hurricane center issue an official forecast track. That forecast track, issued every six hours, shows where the storm is expected to go over the next five days and how strong the storm may be.
Even I, as a meteorologist, know that weather forecasts are far from perfect. The hurricane center, which keeps records of every track it issues, is aware of that fact as well. The hurricane center figures out what its average error is at various forecast horizons - 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, etc. - to help it generate the "cone of uncertainty" on its forecast track (the white area on the map).
The cone basically shows that the center's 12-hour forecast position is, on average, 36 miles off. At 48 hours, it is around 100 miles off.
So, let's say that I live in City X, and the storm is forecast to pass 100 miles to the south of me two days from now. I have nothing to worry about, right? Wrong. Because the average error at 48 hours is 100 miles, the storm could be right over me in two days.
This is why meteorologists and emergency managers will constantly preach not to look at the line on the forecast track, but to look at the "cone." If you are inside that area, you could end up in the direct path of the storm.
Because the atmosphere is so complex, errors from a particular forecast become larger over time. So the cone is much smaller at 12 hours than at five days out, because we know that on average, our short-term forecasts are much better.
So as Hurricane Irene approaches, remember not to focus on that line you see on the forecast track maps. Instead, look at the "cone of uncertainty." In the end, the storm may go anywhere in that area.
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make.
Actually, they do a pretty good job. I live in the coastal NC/Sc region and the modeling has continued to improve. Yes, the projected path changes, we all know that, and it is tweaked, but when they can narrow it down to 100 miles of so, I'd say thats pretty good.
I love this. I'm watching CNN and I don't even know why, they're so dramatic. I feel like I'm watching a bunch of 14 year olds gossiping about what's going on the world. They're giving a ridiculous list of things you need in a disaster, I guess in preparation for the storm. One was to make sure you have an out of state contact and maybe a calling card in case your cell phone doesn't work. I'm not sure what people get out of these stupid segments, I just lost respect for two more women in the world, that's it!
Once again the nation's weather forecasters have forgotten the small state just above the The Carolinas, Delaware. Oh, and the parts of Maryland & Virginia on the peninsula. Shoddy reporting.
Y'all are missing the point-It's all about NYC !!! There's no way they could evacuate Manhattan if they had to-physically impossible considering the numbers. I'm glad I live in Buffalo-no hurricanes/tornados/earthquakes here.
I'm glad someone brought up NYC. If a Cat 2 or 3 storm surge ever pushed it's way up Manhattan...
Evacuation of 10 million people in the Megalopolis area, many relying on public transportation, would make the Katrina Evacuation seem small scale. The worst case scenario isn't very likely, despite all the strident warnings. My bet is most New Yorkers would not leave no matter how dire the warnings get.
Ugggggh – you're thinking of Tropical Storm Fay (2008) – that's the one that went over and back (I live in Volusia County, where Fay dumped something in the area of 80 million- yes million- gallons of rain in a 36 hour period); Charlie made landfall at Port Charlotte and came up the spine (I honestly thought it'd be a tropical storm when it got to Volusia Cty, not a Cat 2!!) and exited at Daytona Beach. Then we got hit with Frances and Jeanne. Ivan hit the panhandle that same year. But you're right, after a while they all start to blur together. I've been in eight hurricanes and at least 15 tropical storms (price you pay for Florida's mild winters) – and I don't live in some rich coastal town, we're pretty poor here in Volusia County for the most part. Lock must be thinking of Lauderdale and Miami – the rest of this state is like the rest of the South. Agree that if you get an evacuation order, you heed it. NO should have evacuated the entire town – or else taken all the federal money they've been given over the last *century* and upgraded those levees like they were supposed to , not build a brdige across Lake Ponchatrane.
What, now there's uncertainty in the hurricane market too?!?! How do I sell my shares in Irene (IRE)?
They forgot the "cone of silence."
God, if she does exist, hates the East Coast
"LIFE" is a cone of uncertainty. ALWAYS be prepared.........................................for anything.
Is it perfect? Far from it. What everyone needs to remember is that the models they provide are only as accurate as the data the collect. If they have more sensors (ie. more data to observe) they can get more accurate. I'm not a big fan of government spending, but a partnership between the states, business, real estate developers, and insurance companies, would be well advised to invest in more data gathering for large storms like this.
Tea party and Republican response to the event: since we have a 14 trillion dollar deficit, we will need to cut our budget even more in order for the government to hand out disaster relief to the people affect. So "HEARTLESS" for
a party that only has money in their hearts.


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Editor in the Health Communication Unit at the ECDC – the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. It is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and the closing date is today. I have not applied for this position because I think I have no professional experience of editing texts in English.
East Midlands. Director of Communications, Development and Marketing at the University of Lincoln in the East Midlands, Lincolnshire, the UK. The deadline is today.
21.05.10 – Thessaloniki. Expert in Research and Comparative Analysis on Education and Training at the Cedefop, European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. The place where you could work is Thessaloniki, in Greece, and the deadline is today.
Watford. Press and Communications Coordinator at the West Herts College in Watford, United Kingdom. The closing date is today- as for the job offers below – and I have not applied as an experienced PR professional is needed. I am not a PR professional.
Greater London. Event Co-ordinator in Central London.
Leeds. Publicity and Communications Co-ordinator for the Groundwork.
Sussex. Diocesan Communications Officer at the Diocese of Chichester in West Sussex.
Brussels. One Human Resources Officer in Belgium at the TEN-T EA, Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency.
Luxembourg. Director at the European Parliament. You could work at the Legal Service, Directorate for Institutional and Parliamentary Affairs.
UK, radio stations and music. Do you listen to BBC Asian Network (videos) or 6 Music (videos)?
No sound for Asian Britain? Save the BBC Asian Network! From a blog and a deejay:
Trust has received 1000 complaints to keep Asian Network open. This is ridiculous. The station is key to the Asian music scene. Seems apathy has reared it's ugly head in regards to Save BBC Asian Network. Come on everyone, we can do better than 1000 complaints. EMAIL email@example.com NOW to Save BBC Asian Network. Just be honest. Keep it simple or state your reasons for not closing it down.
Blog. Why signing up to my blog? To read someting else about music, pop and Christina Aguilera. Please see the right side of this page.
My profiles in NetLog, Plurk, I Like, Bebo, Friendfeed, Twitter and Facebook.
Music. A playlist of mine with songs by Lily Allen (Fuck You), David Guetta featuring Kid Cudi (Memories) and Amy Macdonald (Don't Tell Me That It's Over).
Vanilla icecream, Vanilla Toffee Crunch and Chunky Monkey
Vanilla Bean, Strawberries & Cream, Double Chocolate, Mango & Passion Fruit Madness, Lemon Meringue, Cappuccino and Sticky Toffee Fudge
Mango & Banana Smoothie, Banana & Strawberry Smoothie, Frozen Yogurt, Cappuccino and Chocolate Icecream
Opera, an European browser, and Mozilla, Linux and Apple
Spreadthesign, the sign language dictionary. European Commission – Education & Training
Friday May 21, 2010
updated on Monday May 24, 2010
calogeromira.wordpress.com – e-mail


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Jody Johnson: Nasal spray addiction
Convenience kills. If you contemplate this long and hard enough, you'll probably agree.
In the long run, "convenience" makes its mark on our health along with our pocketbooks. One of those conveniences we've come to count on is nasal sprays, which offer us instant gratification, but not without a price.
Yes, it clears a stuffy nose in a pinch; just a couple of squirts neutralize swollen nasal tissues in just seconds or minutes. Some brands can even offer 12 hours of long-lasting relief. This "relief" can be quite costly in terms of overuse (dependency) and addiction.
Dr. David Vernick of Deaconess Beth Israel Medical Center in Boston warns about the nasal spray addiction phenomenon. Basically, we become accustomed to the immediate and complete relief; however, rebound congestion ensues. Then we become dependent and addicted to the remedies.
The reason we don't get cleared up and breathing fine is because after several days of usage the nasal membranes reswell. This pattern of usage continues, and any patient has a real good chance of becoming trapped in the vicious cycle of overuse/addiction. This can last from weeks to years; there's even a Web site for addicts (afrinaddiction.com).
This addiction seems to fly under the radar for a couple of reasons. Most of the time at a physical, the doctor doesn't look up your nose. Also, when he asks you about the medicines you take, most folks don't even bother to mention the over-the-counter ones, although they should.
Decongestants are not a solution for the problem that seems to prompt their usage, except for the case of a common cold, and then, they should only be used for 3 days.
Seasonal or persistent allergies or chronic vasomotor rhinitis or an obstruction caused by a deviated septum should all be treated with nasal steroids, according to most doctors. This builds up their action over time to control chronic stuffiness without the risk of rebound or significant side effects. Also, oral decongestants that are time released are a good choice because they lack the potential, again, for the "rebound" effect of congestion promoting more spray use.
External strips that hold the nose open for easier breathing are also a good option along with Vicks or a similar product.
When discontinuing the nasal decongestant, start substituting with saline spray. This will make the transition easier and simultaneously will help heal the nasal tissues.
The addictive ingredients of the offenders are: Phenylephrine, a short-acting vasoconstrictor (Neo-Synephrine) and Oxymetazoline along with Xylometazoline (Afrin).
Jody Johnson is a self-taught salutogenesist. She is a columnist for The Carthage Press in Carthage, Mo. E-mail Jody at email@example.com.


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I am constantly amazed at what taxpayers are willing to pay for in taxes to efficiently tax themselves further.
This latest tactic being used by Florida's West Palm Beach Police Department is certainly a crowning achievement in this paradox.
Here's the story from the MSN:
Florida police pose as giant bunnies to catch illegal drivers
"West Palm Beach, Florida, police are going undercover as giant Easter bunnies. As morning commuter traffic slowed to a crawl earlier this week, motorists saw a bunny with a sign reading "Have a safe, hoppy holiday. Buckle up!" And through the large, netted eyes of the bunny costume's large head, the cop was watching them right back, making note of who had a seatbelt on and who didn't, so nearby officers could ticket them as part of the state's "Click it or ticket!" campaign. A similar program in Glendale, Calif. was shut down in 2010 for being "breathtakingly dangerous," but in Florida, it has been pretty successful so far: In just two hours, 50 motorists were cited."
Source: http://now.msn.com/now/0329-easter-cops.aspx
Now, besides the cost of the bunny suits, the 50 motorists that were cited for not wearing their seat belts just on the word of the police officer in the bunny suit. This controversial law is already an attack on free will, independence, and liberty. But to spy on drivers through a bunny suit is seriously twisted!
As with all fees and fines, this amounts to nothing more than revenue generation for a private corporation through its enforcement arm – the municipal corporation police. This action by these code enforcement officers will benefit no one except the corrupt municipal city that is sponsoring it, and making it legal…
In essence, one could describe this action by municipal police as legalized-forced-panhandling. A homeless Vet can only hold up a sign and ask for money. But the police have the self-derived authority to force drivers to pay them ridiculous amounts of money without committing any real crime at all. No victim, no crime.
Of course, in no way does this protect or serve the public. In fact, as the story eludes, this action is creating a public disturbance and nuisance. Described as "breathtakingly dangerous" when this was done in California, drivers are distracted from watching the road and other drivers by the innocent looking pink bunny.
From the Huffington Post in 2010:
Undercover Police Bunny Sent To Pasture
GLENDALE, Calif. — Glendale police who used a bunny costume to decoy bad drivers at crosswalks have abandoned the outfit after it made a city councilman hopping mad.
An officer wore the Easter outfit on Wednesday in crosswalks. Drivers who didn't yield to the furry pedestrian were ticketed.
But City Councilman John Drayman harshly criticized the head-turning costume, calling it "breathtakingly dangerous" and a poor use of city resources.
Glendale police continued the crosswalk sting on Thursday but the officer wore shorts and a T-shirt. A city spokesman says the city is re-evaluating the use of costumes for enforcement campaigns.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/02/undercover-police-bunny-s_n_523409.html
Of course, the City Councilman mentioned in this story doesn't seem to grasp that the whole point of this effort was to generate resources for the city corporation, not to waste them. At least, not publicly.
But let's get more in depth here… What other technologies are we paying for with taxes to further our taxation?
Here's a wonderful little invention called the E-Plate:
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is increasingly used by Governments, enforcement agencies and private sector operators to enhance the policing of roads, identifying and monitoring criminal activity and in counter terrorism…
A highly secure method of vehicle identification uses long range Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) fitted to, or embedded within, the licence plate.
A unique identifier is transmitted from the RFID tag which is compared with what the ANPR camera is seeing. An alert is created where there is a mismatch or no RFID is present. This can then trigger a response either for an enforcement team at the location or a follow up response from the back-office.
Combined ANPR and RFID technology from e-Plate provides the most secure and validated vehicle identification system.
Source: http://www.e-plate.com/anpr-rfid.html
This RFID technology can be used in a plethora of different ways, of course.
A patent filed for this technology states:
[0010] The emergence of passive, sticker tag technology has also greatly reduced the cost of implementing an RFID system. As a result, new applications, such as Electronic Vehicle Registration (EVR) using RFID, have emerged. Currently, e.g., in the United States, a vehicle owner registers their vehicle with the State government and pays a fee. The owner is then provider a sticker, which is applied to the vehicle license plate, to evidence the valid registration of the vehicle; however, these stickers can easily be counterfeited or stolen, i.e., removed and applied to another vehicle. Such activity is difficult to detect, because the only way to determine that a registration sticker does not belong on a certain vehicle is to access a database and check the corresponding information.
[0011] For example, in the United States, an estimated five to ten percent of motorists fail to legally register their vehicles, resulting in lost annual state revenues of between $720 million and $1.44 billion. Outside of the United States, some government agencies report the problem at 30-40% of the vehicles.
[0012] Deploying an Electronic Vehicle Registration system can help Motor Vehicle Administrators achieve increases in vehicle compliance and associated revenues by eliminating the need to rely on inefficient, manual, visual-based compliance monitoring techniques. EVR uses RFID technology to electronically identify vehicles and validate identity, status, and authenticity of vehicle data through the use of interrogators and tags that include data written into the tag memory that matches the vehicle registration data. Fixed, e.g., roadside, or handheld interrogators can then be used to read the data out when required. Thus, RFID technology can enable automated monitoring of vehicle compliance with all roadway usage regulations, e.g., vehicle registration, tolling, etc., through a single tag.
[0013] There are two common ways of attaching a RFID tag to a vehicle, one is using an RFID label tag attached to the windshield of the vehicle. The tag can then be read by a roadside or handheld reader. A second method of attaching the tag to a vehicle is to embed the RFID tag into the license plate. This has the convenience an continuity of replicating the application of current registration stickers; however, such a solution can also suffer from reduced transmission, i.e., communication distance due to the effects the metal license plate has on the performance of the tag antenna.
Source: http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20090021379
Or how about the use of unmanned drones to catch speeders (again, no victim – no crime)…
From TheNewspaper.com:
Houston, Texas to Deploy UAV Speeding Ticket Drones
Unmanned spy planes could issue speeding tickets in Houston, Texas by June 2008.
By June 2008, the city of Houston will use the same military drone aircraft currently used to hunt down terrorists overseas to write speeding citations on Texas freeways. Local television station KPRC exposed the Houston Police Department's plan by using the station's news helicopter to spy on what was supposed to be a confidential gathering of area law enforcement personnel where the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities were demonstrated. The test took place seventy miles northwest of Houston in Waller County.
While police have used aircraft to issue speeding tickets for years, the practice can be quite expensive. The cost to operate an aircraft such as a Cessna 182 can run beyond $200 an hour, which cuts into ticketing revenue. The UAV manufactured by Insitu, however, can stay aloft for up to twenty hours using just over a gallon of gasoline. While it only cruises at 55 MPH with a top speed of 86 MPH, its powerful onboard camera can zoom in on a vehicle from a distance of 60 miles with full night-vision capabilities.
Although Houston Police Executive Assistant Police Chief Martha Montalvo told reporters that the main mission of the device would be homeland security, KPRC confirmed that the department's traffic unit played the lead role in the demonstration.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has opposed unrestricted police use of UAVs in navigable airspace at altitudes including the 1500 feet level used in the Houston test.
"The prospect of small UAVs flitting around in the same airspace we use is frightening," AOPA vice president of regulatory affairs Melissa Rudinger said in a statement last year. "What do you think your chances are of seeing this thing before you hit it? And it can't sense you or get out of the way."
Depending on options, each UAV can cost up to $1 million.
Source: Police Secrecy Behind Unmanned Aircraft Test (KPRC-TV (TX), 11/21/2007)
At a million dollars a drone, you can bet that many, many expensive tickets must be digitally produced to pay for each and every one of these flying robot policemen.
And let's not forget the stationary cameras that are appearing at every major intersection. These "red-light cameras" have quickly been turned into a national surveillance network, enhanced by the above mentioned RFID license plates. Of course, there is still no victim. And in the case of these cameras, there isn't even an accuser that the taxpayer can face in a court of law! Perhaps that's because there are no courts of law anymore, only courts of municipal code, where the police, the prosecuting/city attorney, and the judge all work for the municipality (city) who issued the ticket to collect the revenue. –>That means no fair trial, by the way…
In this story, Newspaper.com reports on this national database:
Photo Ticket Cameras to Track Drivers Nationwide
Vendors plan to add spy technology to existing red light camera and speed camera installations.
Private companies in the US are hoping to use red light cameras and speed cameras as the basis for a nationwide surveillance network similar to one that will be active next year in the UK. Redflex and American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the top two photo enforcement providers in the US, are quietly shopping new motorist tracking options to prospective state and local government clients. Redflex explained the company's latest developments in an August 7 meeting with Homestead, Florida officials.
"We are moving into areas such as homeland security on a national level and on a local level," Redflex regional director Cherif Elsadek said. "Optical character recognition is our next roll out which will be coming out in a few months — probably about five months or so."
The technology would be integrated with the Australian company's existing red light camera and speed camera systems. It allows officials to keep full video records of passing motorists and their passengers, limited only by available hard drive space and the types of cameras installed. To gain public acceptance, the surveillance program is being initially sold as an aid for police looking to solve Amber Alert cases and locate stolen cars.
"Imagine if you had 1500 or 2000 cameras out there that could look out for the partial plate or full plate number across the 21 states where we do business today," Elsadek said. "This is the next step for our technology."
ATS likewise is promoting motorist tracking technologies. In a recent proposal to operate 200 speed cameras for the Arizona state police, the company explained that its ticketing cameras could be integrated into a national vehicle tracking database. This would allow a police officer to simply enter a license plate number into a laptop computer and receive an email as soon as a speed camera anywhere in the state recognized that plate.
Such programs would be fully consistent with existing law on searches and seizures… No warrant would be needed or restrictions applied to license plate tracking systems which do not require any physical contact. Instead, individual police officers could monitor the movements of suspected criminals or even their (non-criminal) wives and neighbors at any time.
In the past, police databases have been used to intimidate innocent motorists. An Edmonton, Canada police sergeant, for example, found himself outraged after he read columnist Kerry Diotte criticize his city's photo radar operation in the Edmonton Sun newspaper. The sergeant looked up Diotte's personal information, and, without the assistance of electronic scanners, ordered his subordinates to "be on the lookout" for Diotte's BMW. Eventually a team of officers followed Diotte to a local bar where they hoped to trap the journalist and accuse him of driving under the influence of alcohol. Diotte took a cab home and the officers' plan was exposed after tapes of radio traffic were leaked to the press. Police later cleared themselves of any serious wrong-doing following an extensive investigation.
Source: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/25/2537.asp
Eventually, one can only come to the conclusion that people enjoy this complete surveillance and revenue generation grid that eventually ensnares all drivers – who can't help but break some legal code due the the sheer number of codes created every year! And this is what taxpayers continue to call a free country.
And as ironic proof of this inherent love of servitude and tax slavery, here are a few comments that were left on the first bunny story holding up a sign to "buckle-up" for safety while spying on drivers through the mesh false-bunny-eyes:
— HEY! Just put the stupid seat belt on and maybe the bunny well get off the street and you won't get a ticket.
— For God sake people that are posting here. THERE IS NO ENTRAPMENT HERE. FACT!
— Note to angry people; just buckle up and you have nothing to worry about.
— It's not entrapment if your a dumba$$ and don't wear a seatbelt. hahaha… I think this is a great idea.
— If it works, why not. Know someone who got a ticket for not wearing his seat belt. He does now.
— Folks try to remember that it wasn't the officers idea to do this. This clearly came down from some higher up maybe a mayor or police chief. I'm sure these cops hate doing this as much as we hate them doing it. (No, they thrive on this!)
— In defense of the many honest and hard working law enforcements officers: cops are like lawyers and prostitutes, many badmouth them until they need one. all of you ****ers, go pull YOUR mother out of a car wreck don't expect a "pig" to do it for you! (Actually, that's firefighters. And they don't kill you with Tazors)
And so, there you have it – a public in love with its own enslavement. A nation that obeys robots and digital requests for payment of fines for committing no offense against any other people, and for not damaging anyone's property.
Just where did this new American dream of taxes and incarceration come from anyway?
Is natural law and the responsibility it takes to be free men and women truly dead?
Welcome to the Corporation of the United States!
–Clint Richardson (realitybloger.wordpress.com)
–Thursday, March 29th, 2012


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This is the thread to post the games you've completed in 2015. If you don't know how this works take a look through one of the previous year's threads linked below, or look at those threads to see how you may have improved your numbers from before. Post now to reserve your 2015 spot!
Previous Threads:


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Lolita Blog Carnival: Your First Lolita Item · Posted by Z
My first lolita item… hm… that is difficult to pinpoint! I've admired lolita for a long time but never actively bought anything until 2009. Wow, 2009 seems just like yesterday and I always considered myself a newbie when it came to being a lolita, but it's already been 6 years! How time flies. Anyway, before 2009, I did buy things from brands that lolitas wore such as h.NAOTO, Sex Pot Revenge, Sexy Dynamite London, and Putumayo, however, I didn't wear them in a lolita fashion when I bought these items. Here are the skirts that I still own from that period in time (circa 2006-2007):
Regardless of these previous purchases, the item that I consider my first lolita item is this beauty: Baby's Circus print JSK.
The reason why I consider this dress my first lolita item is because it's the first main piece that I bought when I decided to jump into lolita fashion — buying this dress was a symbol of me committing to this fashion and no longer just being an admirer. After buying this dress, everything went downhill from there :p I hope to never let this dress go since I'm a terribly nostalgic person. Even though I've moved away from sweet lolita for the most part, I still love this dress to pieces, just as much as I loved it when I first saw pictures of it online.
Vanillas Traumfabrik
ABC Lolita
Spoon and Fork
The Life of a Lolita
The Electric Carousel
The Bloody Tea Party
Alpine Heidi
Alice in Lolitaland
12 Responses to "Lolita Blog Carnival: Your First Lolita Item"
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Tumblr and to be a space where I can post whatever I want, mostly in regards to lolita fashion. This blog is not meant to be informational but a personal one -- please do not use me as a source of information/facts since anything stated on this blog are my personal thoughts and opinions.
I adore lolita fashion and I'm a collector/hoarder of sorts when it comes to this hobby. This blog is here to de-clutter my


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Charlie Sheen's Porn Star Lover Tweets Suicide Attempt, Embodies New Form of Entertainment
What hath Charlie Sheen wrought?
Last night, 22-year-old Kacey Jordan—the woman best known for smoking crack with Charlie Sheen, suggesting she aborted Sheen's baby, and winning Howard Stern's "Charlie Sheen Porn Star Pageant"—locked herself in a hotel room in Chicago and, over the course of five hours, tweeted an extended cry for help:
Ready to drink another mimosa, rock some other shit...then pass out
i've over done it... the more i do...i keep passing out... i just pray i wake up each time
shouldn't i be all awake... i keep fainting. i guess i'll have to do more and see what that does
a) i appreciate ur concern (hotel security raiding my room) b) i'm fine c) i have a family to live for... i'm not trying to kill myself
i took a bunch of pills...drank a hotel size bottle of jack... stumbled to the bathroom to weigh myself.........86 lbs
i think this is funny... i always pull dumb crap like this... i will be better in no time xoxo
those 16 hours i was with charlie sheen... messed me up... i can't get that image out of my head... i think i keep trying to feel his pain
bathtime good byes
i double locked my doors nice try
for over a hundred people calling my hotel...thanks. i made a deal with the hotel. i'm not doing an intervention with the staff
Shortly thereafter, TMZ reports, Chicago police officers found Kacey surrounded by "prescription pill bottles, broken glass and alcohol" and "cuts and scrapes to her wrists and arms." She reportedly tried to cut herself with a bottle opener in front of the police.
Now she's at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she is tweeting her recovery: "I'm Soooo bored in this hospital bed! I wanna have someone save me... And kpuff doesn't have underwear?!!"
Kacey wanted someone to "save" her, and in the process, she turned her low point into entertainment. We are no longer gawking at famous entertainers' occasional meltdowns; the meltdowns are the entertainment, and barely any fame is required to participate. Charlie Sheen didn't invent this genre (Dr. Drew preys on it, Tila Tequila clings to it), but he is its most successful practitioner. This is Charlie Sheen's legacy. Not his acting, not his wives and children, not even his meme-generating catchphrases. In the course of a few weeks, Charlie Sheen proved that the most transfixing version of a reality TV show is the one that airs in the real world, live, and amounts to a serialized slapstick snuff film.
After tweeting about "snort[ing] a fat line" yesterday morning, Kacey chided her critics: "Calm down guys… If Charlie can admit to banging 7 gram rocks I can admit to a line…" Not only can she admit to it, it will make her famous.
We know next to nothing about Kacey Jordan (other than the exact size and shape of every part of her body, richly documented in adult films and hardcore photos), but we have now witnessed one of the most ghastly moments of her life. It was also the most famous moment of her life.
So what do we do now? As a writer who covers these topics, I may share some blame for turning personal disasters into entertainment. Some would say we should ignore these people and their antics—but before the press weighed in, Kacey's story had already through spread through social media outlets. Is ignorance even an option anymore? [Radar, Fox News, TMZ, @MissKaceyJordan, image via Bauer-Griffin]


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17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Thursday, January 16, 1913: We had an examination in Geometry this morning. I think I will make a better mark than what I did the other time.
Her middle-aged granddaughter's comments 100 years later:
What was the Geometry test about—proofs? . . . angles? . . . shapes? . . . capacities?
The directions for doing capacity problems in a hundred-year-old textbook (I think it was called volume by the time I was in school. Is capacity the same thing as volume?) seem very different from what I remember doing when I was a student:
The method of finding the contents of any regular vessel in gallons, bushels, barrels, etc. is called gauging.
The capacity of tanks, cisterns, etc. is usually expressed in gallons or barrels. In every liquid gallon there are 231 cu. in.
To find the exact number of gallons in any vessel, divide the number of cubic inches in the vessel by 231.
To find the number of gallons in a cylindrical vessel, multiply the square of the diameter by the height, and this product by 5 7/8.
To find the approximate number of gallons in a cistern, multiply the number of cubic feet by 7 1/2 and from the product, subtract 1/400 of the product.
The capacity of bins, etc. is usually expressed in bushels. The standard bushel in the United States is a measure 8 inches deep, 18 1/2 inches in diameter, and contains 2150.42 cubic inches. Hence, to find the number of bushels in any bin, divide the number of cubic inches in the bin by 2140.42.
Kimball's Commercial Arithmetic (1911)
Got that? Want to try some problems?
Find the contents in gallons of a tank 4 ft. square and 5 ft. deep.
The water in a cistern 8 ft. square is 2 ft. deep, how many gallons does it contain?
A bin 8 ft. by 4 ft. by (?) contains 90 bushels of grain. Find the missing dimension.
How many tons of water will fill a tank 11 ft. 8 in. by 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 3 in., if the weight of a cubic foot of water is 1,000 ounces?


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NEW YORK (AP) _ The kids at the Covenant House homeless shelter are always looking for somebody to lean on. They got it one summer night last year, along with a lullaby sung by some of Broadway's best.
More than 50 Broadway artists broke into a serenade of ``Lean On Me'' while spending the night on the street outside the Manhattan shelter in solidarity with the 350 homeless youth living inside.
``Of course we had to break into song when you put a bunch of us together. We can't not sing,'' said Rory O'Malley, the Tony Award-nominated former star of ``The Book of Mormon.'' The windows lit up and the kids inside soon joined them in song.
``That's the power of music and the power of art. We were able to tell them that we're here for them, and it was an awesome, awesome moment, something that I'll always remember.''
On Sunday, some 70 Broadway figures will join the second Sleep Out to raise money to provide food, clothing and shelter for homeless youth. Participants have already pulled in more than $177,000 as of Friday morning, beating last year's fundraising total of $136,000.
``It gets kids thinking, `Maybe I'm not broken,''' said Kevin Ryan, president and CEO of Covenant House International. ``It lifts kids up thinking that all these people who don't even know them think enough about them to spend the night on concrete.''
The event has been spearheaded by two Broadway veterans _ Capathia Jenkins, a star of ``Newsies,'' and Stephanie J. Block, who has appeared in ``The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' and ``9 to 5.''
Participants on Sunday will be introduced to the homeless youth _ many single mothers and others kicked out for being gay _ and then break up into groups to share stories and answer questions from stage stars.
``The money is essential to the work we do, but that alone is oxygen for our kids,'' said Ryan. ``They're helium for kids' dreams. They lift young people up and make them believe that they can rise up and do anything.''
Then, when the night winds down, the Broadway folk will be handed a piece of cardboard and a sleeping bag and try to sleep outside the Covenant House building, on the corner of 41st Street and 10th Avenue.
``This is not a replication of homelessness,'' Ryan stressed. ``It is just a single night of solidarity, lifting up the dignity of homeless kids.''
This year's event has attracted about 70 participants who are soliciting donations to reach their individual goals. There are also teams from ``The Lion King,'' ``The Book of Mormon,'' ``Les Miserables'' and ``Newsies.''
The group includes a returning Denis O'Hare of ``True Blood;'' Kyle Scatliffe, who plays Enjolras in ``Les Miserables'' Tony-nominated Adriane Lenox from ``After Midnight''; a returning Caissie Levy, who stars as Fantine in ``Les Miserables''; director and choreographer Jeff Calhoun; playwright David Henry Hwang; Elizabeth A. Davis, a Tony nominee for ``Once''; Tony winner Chuck Cooper; and Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Productions.
Newly crowned six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald won't be free Sunday but has pledged to sleep outside on a different night and is hoping to raise $10,000 with such prizes as getting her to record a voicemail greeting or a video of her singing happy birthday.
O'Malley will be there, too, even though he figures he only got about 45 minutes of sleep last year between the rumble of trucks going in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel. He has kept in touch with one of the kids he met, meeting over coffee and offering advice.
But O'Malley, whose new show ``Partners'' just premiered on FX, admits he was anxious in the days leading up to last year's event. Even though his safety was secure, he started to worry about where he'd sleep and what he'd eat.
``As the date got closer I thought, `My God, this is one night I'm worried about! One night,''' he said. ``We're not putting ourselves out there in the same way these homeless kids are having to put themselves out there on the street every single night.''
As for any spontaneous singing, he wishes that could be duplicated this year: ``I'm hoping that it happens again. Who knows what we'll break out from our repertoire?''
Online: http://covhou.convio.net/site/TR/SleepOut/SleepOutBroadwayEdition?fr_id=1300&pg=entry


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"We are thrilled to have Tami join our team. She understands how jurisdictions work which will help us continue to facilitate performance bond related tasks on behalf of our developer clients," commented DFM's Principal, David Muller.
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Report: Scientists Link ALS, Athlete Head Injuries
Scientists have found evidence connecting head injuries in athletes to Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a report to air on HBO's "Real Sports" on Tuesday night.
Dr. Ann McKee said in an interview with the television magazine show that she found toxic proteins in the spinal cords of three athletes who had suffered head injuries and then later died of Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS. Those same proteins have been found in the brains of athletes with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease linked to head injuries that causes cognitive decline, abnormal behavior and dementia.
The findings are to be published in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology.
McKee, a neurology professor at Boston University who has studied CTE in athletes, noticed that an unusually high number of football players seemed to be affected by ALS. The disease attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and destroys the ability to move and speak.
She was able to study the brains and spinal cords of ex-Minnesota Vikings linebacker Wally Hilgenberg, former Southern California linebacker Eric Scoggins, and a boxer whose family asked that his name be kept private.
She found the toxic proteins in the spines of all three. The proteins were not present in the spines of athletes with CTE who didn't have Lou Gehrig's disease. Nor had she seen them in non-athletes who died of ALS.


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Delightful is the best way to describe the opening performance of the Cedar Springs High School's production of Lerner and Loewe's classic musical Camelot, under the direction of Linda Martino. Ryan Shaw directed the pit and Kassandra Brott was the student director.
Strong performances were given by the leads Jenna Johnson (Guenevere), Justin Balczak (Arthur), Jared Kelley (Lancelot), Jeff Meinke (Pellinore), Steve Reed (Merlin), Miles Johnson (Mordred), and Emily Marckini (Morgan Le Fey), all seniors.
All of the cast did a wonderful job, with the jousting scene being the best, as everyone urged their favorites on, only to be bested by Lancelot.
The set was well designed and as a result scene changes took a minimum of time and effort. Lighting and sound were also well done.
It is apparent that a great deal of passionate effort went into the performance, for which they can all be proud.


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